Terrestrial
by Mikorozid
Summary: About a thousand years into the future, Earth is ravaged by countless wars. The young general of Windbloom and prodigal daughter of Kuga Tech and her companions Mai and Nao journey across the Galaxy to Planet E, hoping to find out more about the seemingly uninhabited planet where the remaining population of their people can settle down. But there's always more that meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

_Italics – Thoughts_

It was the year 3018. After three millenniums of human exploitation, Earth was left barren and depleted. Gone were the sprawling cities of yesteryears – in its stead, were left with haunting reminiscent of the cities former glory. Massive conflicts over the centuries between countries and continents scarred the land and the remaining human capital now stands solo, with fragments of migrating factions scattered across the globe. Now, it seemed like Earth's atmosphere was blanketed in incessant smog and the scant greenery that was left were easy victims to desertification.

The human capital – Windbloom – boasted formidable walls. Apparently, its strategy of neutrality and adoption of defensive policies secured its position while the rest of the world was battling it out. When it was finally dragged into battle, the remaining factions, exhausted and war-weary did not put up much of a fight and victory was decisive. What started out as a defensive wall against the ceaseless crossfire of strife evolved into intricate divisions between the different classes of society as more and more refugees sought shelter within the walls. Windbloom, led by a Council of Five, allowed refugees in to aid the economy, especially with farming and other menial tasks. However, the increasing insecurities felt by the higher levels of society led them to construct walls, separating their mansions from the slums created by refugees. As the construction costs were pooled together by the nobles and it created jobs, the Council of Five raised no objection.

The social strata within Windbloom was, a vicious cycle, really. Nobles controlled mostly every essential necessity needed to survive and their companies were handed down from generation to generation. Whatever remuneration that was paid to the lower classes was just taken back in the form of payment for utilities, public transport, food and entertainment, leaving a meager portion for anything else. This had been the way for the past millennium. But the time for change had come.

Reforestation efforts have had little effect with the rapid desertification of the lands outside the walls, leading to a downward spiral of the ecosystem. Within the walls, tillable land had lost a significant amount of fertility and harvests were dwindling. While not an immediate cause for alarm, something had to be done.

XXX

".. And what I'm saying is that we should not send any more of our able personnel to the infinite depths of space for some pipe dream. Who know what is out there? Also, we are having enough trouble as is maintaining and feeding the current populace. Food and fuel are both required for journeys like these and that's certainly not what we can afford to waste right now" the toffee-haired woman spoke, heaving a sigh.

"Yes, but for how much longer? Are we to sit here and wait for our supplies to dwindle and slaughter one another as we fight for survival? I say, we should take our chances and look to the future! It's a risk, but I say we take it! Besides, our preliminary scouts have already indicated certain livable traits in Planet E!" Haruka exclaimed, eyes gleaming, slamming her hand on the table in her usual way to get a point across.

The ebony-haired man, Reito Kanzaki, crossed his arms and shifted in his seat before speaking "I'd say I'll have to agree with Haruka. We should go forward instead of sticking to the certainty; and we all know for certain what's at the end of the road – I'd daresay we would stumble upon that within the next century. Our greenhouses and genetic ally enhanced crops can only last THAT long."

Youko grimaced at the thought of what Kanzaki was saying. Frowning, she raised her hand "If we were to agree upon it, I'd hope that we take into account of what Yukariko is pointing out as well. We should not squander our food and medical supplies. Could we take another look at the reports again before sending proper forces in for colonization?"

Haruka nodded, turning the screen to face the council, clapping and flipping her hands in an outward motion, she expanded the view to fill the center of the circular desk. "Here you can see the overview of Planet E." Touching the 3D map, she continued "Over here you can see similar vegetative state to ours a millennium back, before the wars started. Not only that, large bodies of what seems to be like water was also spotted." She pointed out, pulling another image in. "When we sent that initial team to test the air levels, though a large percentage was Helium and Nitrogen, we also detected sufficient levels of Oxygen – enough for them to try breathing without aids! Dear council members, what are the chances of finding another planet that is so similar to our own?"

The cobalt-haired woman stood up, seizing everyone's attention as they turned their heads to look at the eldest of the Council. "I propose that we send 1 company on this expedition. As for supplies, I believe the journey there takes – one month on a Starliner – Haruka?" She got a nod in response. "Thus I propose an eight month supply, enough to last the divisions six months including getting there and back. Additionally, also enough seeds of some of our crops, to test if the land there is suitable for future sustenance." She paused, "In the event of hostile life forms, might I also suggest some Durans and Hoverterrains? It would be our honor to provide additional units if required."

Ears perking at the sound of Duran, one of the city's epitomes of machinery, Haruka silently nodded to herself. Durans were one of the most flexible warmonger in Kuga Tech's line of defense and offence. Boasting an array of weapons from sniper-like accuracy to large destructive land-levelers, they could also be used for commercial purposes – such as clearing forests and the like by re-fitting the necessary tools. Recent modifications enabled Durans to sync the machines' movements with the personnel controlling it to a higher level. Instead of the clunky and cumbersome movements the previous Durans sported, the latest was streamlined, virtually rid of their mechanical whirling and other obnoxious sounds. The capability of the machine was as good as the person controlling it – if given to the right user. Her old friend had outdone herself with the new modifications.

"Thank you for your proposal, Councilor Kuga, as well as your generosity. May I ask which company we propose to send, before casting my vote?" Youko queried.

Reito hummed, tapping his finger to his forehead, "I believe company 6 has certainly outdone itself in the recent defense against those marauding factions – which I would rather call bandits – without any major losses on our side with their famed guerilla tactics. Their captain, Yuuki, is resourceful and particularly apt in reconnaissance as well. That might just prove useful in for this particular mission." He flashed his teeth in his signature smile.

Haruka snorted "That little delinquent is known for not following ANY rules in place! She just runs off, does her little _Yuuki_ business, doesn't keep us updated and just magically reappears with that smug look on her face! We can't lose communication when they are out there! "

Yukariko chuckled slightly at Haruka's outburst, before adding "Well, but she does what she does and she's good at it. We definitely need any extra reconnaissance we can get when we first arrive there, the more we know about Planet E, the better. I still do have my concerns about the possibility of eight months wastage of supplies, but I believe it is relatively reasonable. I am willing to make a concession here, Haruka – Councilor Kuga's proposal, Company 6 to be sent, eight months food, no more, no less, and I will fully support this motion. "

Grunting, Haruka nodded begrudgingly.

"Aye here, then" Youko waved her hand.

"It seems we are all in consensus. Let's finish up the necessary, and give word to the relevant parties." Kuga nodded, pushing up her thick framed spectacles, simultaneously tapping the screen in front of her, typing in relevant details about today's Council resolution before swiping the screen, causing it to flash green – a vote of Aye. The other four Councilors scanned through the details Kuga transmitted on their screen, before following suit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Italics – Thoughts_

Delivering a right hook, she spun around, using the gained momentum to execute a backhand that plowed directly in her opponent's temple. Taking advantage of the stumbling figure, she followed up with a series of well-placed kicks and jabs which were concentrated on the figure's left rib. Her ears perked up at the sudden movement she caught at the corner of her eye. She shifted, avoiding the whirling star shaped blade that shot past her. Before she could catch her breath, another series of blades came flying toward her and she leapt forward, tucking herself into a ball and rolling towards the staggering figure.

Grunting, she grabbed him in a stranglehold, and used him as a shield for the incoming blades of death. She glanced down briefly at her dead human shield. Dropping his dead weight, she sped towards the side, using the wall as leverage and propelled herself toward the gadget still spewing blades. Her gloved hand made contact with the machine as she yanked it off, throwing it to the ground and heard the metallic crunch as she crushed it under her heel.

The door slid open and three more figures came sprinting toward her. "Thanks, Winston." She muttered under her breath, before knocking one down with a sweeping kick. Re-positioning her arms, she pushed herself off the floor and delivered a solid kick to the second punk's jaw, knocking him out cold, perhaps snapping his neck in the process. The third pulled out a handgun, which she recognized as a Beretta M9 and started firing at her. _15, 14 … 3, 2, 1, _she silently counted to herself while vaulting away. *Click*

She barreled into him, smashing her elbow into his skull in the process. She caught him before he fell completely, yanking his upper torso up by the arms, bending his body backward in an arc, before crashing into his spine with her heels.

Wincing at the sudden jolt of pain that coursed through her left shoulder blade, she frowned momentarily. She ignored the pain and dashed toward the last figure in the room before he regained his bearings after he smashed his head when she tripped him. Pinning him down, she grabbed his head and did a quick twist. Hearing the crunch of bones, she stood up, rubbing her left shoulder awkwardly. "Time and stats, Winston!" she barked. The four figures on the ground and the surroundings pixelated and disappeared in a shimmer of blue, leaving a solid white room.

"No need to get all crabby, Suki. Too much anger is bad for your health. Your current record time for training stimulation three five two is five minutes and thirty six seconds. Last session recorded was five minutes and fifty eight seconds. I believe you got slowed by your old injury. Scanning tissues and replaying training sequence now … … Looks like your old wound was aggravated by your _brash_ attempt in overexerting yourself. There could have been other ways of neutralization, if I do say so myself." Winston commented.

"Don't get all sarcastic on me, or I might just reprogram you or stick a 1985 processor in." She growled. Winston was her current A.I butler. Winston's original programming was left to her by her dad before he left for the millennium wars back in 3000. "My dear Suki, Winston was created to fill the void that I would be leaving. I hope he can be of aid to you, better than I ever could." was the note left by her father.

"Who is Winston, mom?! I don't want it, I want dad!" the four year old scowled, glaring at the little device that held Winston's programming. "Come on, Suki, you will figure out its true purpose in the future." Saeko gently picked her baby girl up and carried her upstairs, tucking the exhausted child to bed.

For the next few years, she would glare at the device that her mom had placed in the living room. Dad never returned and all the purpose she saw in that little device was that is served to remind her of her father. Yet, she could never bring herself to throw it away as it was the last thing that had of her dad.

It wasn't until she was 13, when she came home one day after combat training. Her circle of friends was all away or busy with their family matters and she was bored stiff. Haphazardly tossing her backpack on the floor, she collapsed on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Turning to glance at the television, she flipped it on, loading her latest training video recorded in today's session. Stretching, she sat up and proceeded to watch it.

After ten minutes of watching herself and noting some areas which she could improve on, she grew restless. Glancing at the glass cabinet by the television, she noticed the ancient little device her father had left her. _Well, it's not like I've anything better to do. No harm taking a look_, she thought, standing up and swiping it, before grabbing her backpack and headed to her room.

Flipping the switch, her room was illuminated in a blue hue as her room's system booted up and the lights came on. "Let's see what's inside little thing that could be so helpful." She muttered to herself before plugging the gadget and loading the system files.

"Welcome Suki." A voice spoke, startling her and she looked around in bewilderment for the source. "I am Winston, your humble assistant. I have been programmed with complex theorems and equations that would prove themselves quite useful to you." That would be her first time meeting Winston, and true to her father's word, Winston certainly aided her. Not that she would openly admit it though.

Previously, she wondered why she didn't change his sarcastic and teasing personality with each modification and upgrade, but as the years went by, she decided that she couldn't live without it. She was just too used to him and his constant nagging being around. Besides, it was the only semblance of what her father would have been like if he were around.

Winston continued, jolting her from her thoughts back to the present. "Tissue scan shows slight tearing, but nothing a few days wouldn't heal. Shall I contact Youko to take a look?" attempting to make amends, horrified at the thought of having a 1985 processor.

"Nah, she's probably still in the Council meeting. Just pull up the blinds and open the balcony doors in the living room, please." She muttered, making her way to grab a towel by a rack nearby before descending down the stairs to her living room. Grabbing the pack lying on the counter, she walked out to the balcony before lighting up. Dragging her cigarette, she looked down at the sprawling walls that segmented the people of Windbloom. Looking farther, she spotted a wisp of green in the horizon. "Must be the farms, wonder how it's like down there." she mused.

"NATSUKI STOP DREAMING!" a booming voice hollered. She was surprised she wasn't uprooted and flung off the balcony by the sheer volume of that …_sonic boom_, for lack of better word, she thought to herself.

"WHAT, MAI?! Are you insane, screaming at me like that?" she yelled back, waving her arms in annoyance. _Freaking Winston, why didn't he announce her arrival? Is he in cahoots with her?! _She took another drag from her cigarette.

"OI Winston, what the hell, why didn't you tell me she was coming?! I could have been flung off the balcony when she sonic boomed me!" she exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at Mai, earning her a solid smack on the head from Mai with a rolled up newspaper. _Where the hell did she get all these kinda things to smack me with?!_

"Mai requested me not to. And she spoke to me nicely, unlike …" Winston got cut off.

"YEAR 1985 PROCESSOR!" she threatened.

"Stop bullying Winston!" Mai jabbed her best friend's shoulders. "By the way, are you hungry? I brought some food over! Help me lay the table, would you? Nao and Mikoto said they were reaching in five." Mai nodded, as she headed inside the house, toward the kitchen.

"Ugh, that sneaky spider … cat … whatever … is always late!" she complained as she took a final puff before stubbing out the cigarette and followed Mai toward the kitchen.

Laying the bowls and cutlery down, she glanced at the approaching figure coming through the kitchen door, carrying a pot that smelt delicious. She peered at the soupy broth, and her stomach rumbled in protest. Mai chuckled and set the pot down. "Don't worry, Natsuki, I have a surprise for you today. Just hang on a bit for them to arrive."

Right in cue, a loud roaring was heard, followed by an ear shattering yelp and the door crashed open, revealing the crumpled figure of a black haired figure.

"Mikoto!" Mai shrieked, dashing over and cradled the figure's head. Tilting Mikoto's head to face herself, she saw the spiraling eyes and heard a faint "... hungry..." a sure fire indication that she was fine.

An angry redhead stormed in, fuming she yelled, "What the hell were you thinking hopping out of the car like that?!" She turned to face Natsuki, who was leaning against the counter with a clearly bemused expression at the antics of her friends. "She freaking leapt out of the car when after yelling Ramen! I hope you hit your head good! That'll teach you to jump out of a speeding car!" She sneered at the still recovering girl.

"Oh no, poor Mikoto, you must be starving. Here, let me get a bowl for you." Mai cooed, helping her to a seat by the counter before promptly scooping a bowl for her, laden with the soupy noodles and motioned for the rest to join them. Ladling a bowl each, they took their seats.

Her brow furrowed. "Mai, you didn't bring out the mayonnaise?" She questioned with a confused look at how her best friend could have forgotten the sacred condiment. At that, Mai flashed her cheery smile, replying "Ah! But that's the surprise I was waiting to show you!" She rummaged through her pockets, producing a small metallic canister. "You guys have heard that Tokiha Foodstuffs have been making quite a bit of progress in dehydrating and compacting nutrition pellets, right? Though it quells hunger and provides the necessary nutrients, I'm sure you all know it can be pretty tasteless." earning a nod from around the table, except for one who was too caught up in slurping her noodles which she had just risked injury for. "Well, we were working on taste and texture in the latest batch. We ventured into making some simple stuff and recently successfully manufactured this new pellet. It's also smaller in size, improving existing storage capabilities and boasts improved shelf life of foodstuffs. Watch!" She took out a pill and popped it in Natsuki's bowl.

Natsuki raised her eyebrows and stared, half expecting the bowl to explode in her face with the addition of the new pellet. "Uh, this is safe right?" She got her answer, when the pellet dissolved, leaving behind a sizeable pile of her favorite, most sacred, epitome of tingling her taste buds, condiment. "MAYO!" She cheered. "Does that mean I can put a pellet in my mouth and it will dissolve, leaving mayonnaise behind for me to savor?" she asked, eyes glistening with newfound adoration for the pellets. _No more lugging a tub of mayonnaise around! Simple and satisfying!_

Mai nodded in agreement at Natsuki's question, "Well, for now it's just the simple stuff, we tried it in the form of bread, cookies and chips. But I had this little batch tested just for you! Mayo's relatively easy to develop as compared to more complex foods. We are still tweaking around for those, such as the ramen here could prove to still be a bit of a challenge."

"Well, adios to the days of dining on tasteless powder." Nao commented. "I would fancy the lighter load out in the field; nothing beats snacking on cookies and chips out there."

"Hey! Less talk, more eating!" Natuski reached over the table for the mayo canister, popping another two in her bowl, before stirring the contents together to create blotchy white and brown paste-like goo. "Man, Mai, this is awesome! It tastes just like the real deal. Sweet, delicious, gooey.."

"YUP! AWESOME" Mikoto interrupted, nodding her head frantically before slurping the remainder of her noodles up. Mai and Nao exchanged looks, shrugged and started on their meals. The table fell into comfortable conversation between old friends and mouthfuls of tasty ramen.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, greatly appreciated. Much astrological jargon this chapter, please pardon if the logic is erroneous but I hope it's believable enough to make the story more realistic. Please read and review, thank you.

**Chapter 3**

_Italics – Thoughts_

"Councilor Haruka!" a petite, bespectacled girl waved at her blonde friend as she spotted her emerging from the double doors. Yukino was the current Education minister of Windbloom. In the two years after taking over from her predecessor, she was able to garner support and funding, extending basic education to the mass populace.

The blonde was speaking to Saeko when she heard her name. Recognizing Yukino, she motioned for her to come over while continuing her conversation with Saeko. "I really hope that this time round, there would be more conclusive evidence if the planet would be viable for our future. However, we are also sending some of our best out there, putting them at risk. It's really a big gamble to make."

"Oh, not to worry too much Haruka, you know how those few are together. I am certain that they will look out for one another without us even asking. Besides, the consensus is that in the face of any risk, they will leave without further questions. The priorities are simple and the topmost is to get home safe." Saeko replied.

"Good morning, Councilor Kuga." Yukino bowed slightly at the older woman. "Good morning, Minister Kikukawa." Saeko smiled at the shy girl. "I trust the meeting went well?" asked Yukino.

"You bet it did! The Council has approved the motion to send a specialist team together with one company for eight months to Planet E!" Haruka proudly proclaimed, balling her right hand into a fist. "Councilor Sagisawa has also volunteered herself for this expedition. I'd say she's pretty excited in discovering and researching on alien astrobiology which could lead to future medical breakthroughs. Not to mention, they really could use a top-notch doctor when they're there, you know, just in case. Besides, she would be the most reliable person to report back to the Council on the weekly updates. We'd be lucky to get an update once every 3 months if it were up to those few."

"Speaking of them, since we were tasked by the Council to brief them on this and assist in their necessary preparation, would you like to head home with me? I believe they're meeting for lunch today and we could catch them all together. I think it's best for the news to be delivered as soon as possible." Saeko suggested as they made their way down the long hallway to the main exit, "Besides, I heard Mai's cooking ramen, I could use a break from powdery pellets." Haruka and Yukino readily accepted her invitation. They exited the Council Hall and made their way to the black vehicle parked along the road.

"Home, please." Saeko spoke to the vehicle as she got in after the two younger girls and settled down in the plush seats. It hummed, firing up its engine before retracting its wheels to hover slightly. The vehicle sunk slightly, before re-stabilizing itself with its quad thrusters at the base and they took off. "Winston, we are done with the Council Meeting for today. Haruka and Yukino are coming over, would you be a dear and check if the girls are around?"

"Ah, welcome back Ms Kuga. As a matter of fact, Nao and Mikoto have just arrived at the estate. In a less than glamorous fashion, I might add. Shall I inform them that you are on the way home?" Winston's voice came through the speakers. "It's alright; we shouldn't take long to arrive." She replied.

"Indeed, if we maintain current thrust and tail wind remains favourable, the estimated time of arrival would be in eleven minutes and thirty nine seconds." Winston responded as the vehicle disappeared toward the horizon.

XXX

"Oi Nao, I just remembered. You gotta send your suit back to me one of these days. I recently recalibrated the weight ratio of the forearm section by replacing that portion with a denser element that not only provides additional protection, but also provides for optimal execution for successive strikes based on your combat style. It has a probability of 89.74% of increasing your inertia in each strike without compromising on velocity..." She was interrupted.

"Okay, all I got was, send your suit back to me, bla bla, not important, bla bla, yawn, not important, yawn, bla bla and snore." Nao gave Natsuki a bored look, propped her head on her left hand and imitated a quacking duck's beak with her right. Natsuki growled at her and Nao wrinkled her nose, sticking her tongue out. Both were too engrossed in their staring contest that they failed to notice that Mai, who was sitting at the centre of the table, had stood up. She grabbed both of them by the ears and yanked, hard. "OOOOWW!" they cried in unison, struggling to pry themselves free of Mai's iron grip.

"Can't the two of you keep your claws and fangs in for a day? Nao! Natsuki was just trying to help you! And Natsuki, less technical terms please, for the sake of all of us. I barely got any of that!" Mai reasoned with the two before releasing her hold. "Now let's just sit and finish eating! The food's going to get cold!"

Before they could, the main door clicked open and the occupants in the dining table turned to find Saeko, Haruka and Yukino stepping through the doorway. "Hey mom, you're home!" Natsuki greeted enthusiastically. "Hey Haruka, Yukino. Join us for lunch, please." she addressed her friends with a smile. Greetings were exchanged throughout the room and everyone took their seats. "By the way, how did the Council meeting go?" Natsuki asked between mouthfuls of mayo drenched ramen.

"That was also the reason for this visit. We were tasked with briefing the personnel involved with the Council's decision as soon as possible." Haruka glanced around the table as they took their seats. "As you know, we have been sending small squadrons of scouts to explore the depths of space in an effort to find a sustainable planet for our future. Yet nothing viable has come up. Recently, a squad returned after collecting sufficient data which could be our best bet for the future. Let me pull up the data." She expanded the view from her tablet, with motions similar to the Council Meeting earlier and flipped through her files.

"Is it planet E?" Natsuki spoke up.

"Uh huh." She muttered absentmindedly, still sifting through the multitude of files.

"Let me help. Winston, pull out folder 'Stolen from Haruka' and load up PE3018. Expand it for us." She commanded, ignoring the bewildered look Haruka had. Finishing up the remaining noodles, she looked at the loaded projection in front of her and stood up. "I believe that's the planet's vegetation? And this chart here, is probably the composition of air? Hmm, 74% Nitrogen, 17% Oxygen, 5% Helium and the remaining inert gases. Hmm, that's weird, Helium usually escapes the planet's atmosphere into space due to its density, unless the planet's mass is approximately 150 times that of Earth, as it would have a massive gravitational well to prevent that. But here ... Winston, extract all remaining data in her files and give me a scaled down 3D of planet E. Use the similar scale for a 3D of Earth and Jupiter too." He complied and in a few seconds 3 floating orbs were in front of them. Natsuki pulled two globes – blue and purple – into her palms; which did not differ much in sizes; out from her screen and spun them, before continuing, "Here are the three planets. This here is Earth. For the sake of comparison, let's take Earth as the control and use rounded figures – 8,000 miles in diameter at the equator. This orb is 4 inches in diameter." She lifted the blue orb in her palm. "And here, is Jupiter – 88,000 miles in diameter at the equator." She pointed to the relatively enormous brown globe, "That's 44 inches in diameter." Walking up to it, she placed the two globes in her hand next to the brown one and widened her arms to emphasize the size difference with her arm span.

Prodding the purple orb, she continued, "This is Planet E. With Winston's calculation and extraction from Haruka's files, this is a stimulated rendering of what the planet will look like. I would estimate that its mass is similar to that of earth, not Jupiter." She held up the two orbs in comparison. "This begs the question on how the planet's Helium concentration could reach such significant levels. If you'd ask me, the only reasonable conclusion I can think of; assuming the planet was birthed in the same way as Earth; is that the planet holds massive amounts of Uranium-238 and Thorium-232 and it's going through alpha decay, which emits Helium. Assuming only a fraction of that Helium finds its way to the atmosphere; for it to maintain at a 5% level, there's a gold mine right there..." She frowned for a moment, "I mean Uranium and Thorium mine. I can't say for certain without being there and running further analysis though." She concluded.

"That's a fascinating observation. I mean, if such a planet exists, it would really be beneficial to us. Do you remember that back in the 2200s, we finally exhausted all helium stockpiles and though we found some replacements like liquid nitrogen, it was never able to compare. Imagine we could bring back technologies ranging from the Large Hadron Collider to the MRIs." The usually shy Yukino spoke up excitedly as she and Natsuki engaged in a battle of technological theorems.

Saeko saw at the aghast looks of the rest of the table and cleared her throat, getting the attention of her daughter and Yukino. "I believe what they are saying is that there is a possibility of finding rare elements on Planet E. These rare elements can produce Helium, which can no longer be found on Earth, and could really help in re-gaining lost technological advances." She summarized, earning excited nods from the blue and brown haired girls.

Haruka broke out of her dazed stupor and pointed furiously at Natsuki. "YOU! WHO SAID YOU COULD HACK INTO MY FILES?! These are CONFIDENTIAL! You… you… DELINQUEUNT!" and earned herself an exasperated look from Yukino. She threw her hands up into the air, "AH FINE. What was I saying?" She pondered for a moment whilst scratching her head, "Oh, right. The Council has approved the motion for sending a specialist team together with a company of troops to planet E to get a more detailed reconnaissance for the future. The duration will be eight months, including two months for the trip there and back. Departure will be in three weeks. The team fielded has already been decided. Let me pull up the files."

"Let me help. Winston, pull..." Natsuki stopped herself as she saw the intense red-faced and smoking Haruka who looked like she was about to throttle her to death. "Fine!" she huffed, turning her head to the side, crossing her arms in defiance and blew a stray strand of hair from her face. "Not my fault your files are so easy for Winston to hack into ..." she muttered under her breath. Saeko chuckled and gave her daughter a mock disapproving look.

Haruka took a deep breath, "Alright, I'll start with the flight crew. Captain Mikoto, this trip will entail the use of the Starliner. We want to keep the team small and efficient. Get only your necessary flight crew and prepare the ship for travel." She nodded as she got a mock salute from the youngest member of the room. "Professor Mai, you and Professor Youko will be paired together as the research heads for sample analysis. We need to find out if we can sustain ourselves there when it comes to the basics like food and medicine. The Council has also approved a shipment of seeds with the expedition, so try cultivating some on the alien planet and let's see what happens." Mai nodded enthusiastically and gave a thumb up. "You can count on me, Haruka!"

"And Nao." She turned to the redhead who was busy buffing her nails. "You are to be leading as company 6's Captain. No more disappearing acts! It is your duty as a captain to report back to either the Council or the assigned person-in-charge." She narrowed her eyes at the girl who was looking at her nails in boredom. Without looking up, she replied, "The previous task was completed, wasn't it? Stop harping on it! Jeez. Talk about wound up."

The infuriated Haruka was about to retort, but her mouth was clamped by a worried Yukino, who knew better then to ignite a spark that would trigger a whole chain of arguments between everyone at this important point in time. Calming down, she directed her attention on the last member of the team, who was busy discussing her previous observations with her mother, constantly nodding in an animated fashion, with Saeko looking truly immersed in the conversation. _Like mother, like daughter_. _Both of them are so caught up in the world of science and logic. If there should be anyone to lead Kuga Tech, it would definitely be Natsuki_. _Also, resemblance between them is just uncanny! Especially when they go all technical!_ Haruka thought, before clearing her throat, "General Kuga, you will be leading this mission. Since The Council has approved Councilor Saeko's generous offer of providing Durans and Hoverterrains on this expedition." She got a nod of affirmation from Saeko. "You will also be in charge of the maintenance of the team's suits. For the Hoverterrains and other weaponry, please also see to it that you assemble your technical team." She turned to the rest of the team, "However, the primary thing is to get home safe. You see any sign of danger; you turn, run and get the hell outta there as fast as possible. Remember that there is no good in exploring a hostile planet."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Chapter 4 and 5 will be for future plot/character development and be forewarned that there's going to be Nat/Nao and Mai/Mikoto.

**Chapter 4**

_Italics – Thoughts_

After lunch, the group went their separate ways. Haruka and Yukino left to conduct a seminar for the latest batch of enrolled students. Saeko took her leave soon after the duo left and headed downstairs to her laboratory, citing that she had unfinished lab work due to today's Council meeting. A lazing Nao was lying with half her body upside down on the couch, inhaling a stolen cigarette from Natsuki, which she had swiped without her noticing, yet.

As the two girls stepped out of the kitchen after helping Mai with clearing up, Mikoto went to her favourite spot: a comfortable beanbag by the television and nestled into it, conveniently falling asleep. Natsuki stormed over to the prone redhead and snatched the cigarette. "This is mine!" Nao smiled slyly, took out the stolen pack and waved it in front of her. Her wrist device beeped and flashed once. She looked down at it, "Well, gotta be somewhere! Duty calls! See ya!" she tossed the pack at her grouchy friend and took off.

"Irritating Nao, always stealing my stuff and disappearing right after! What is she, some sort of magician?" Natsuki grumbled to no one in particular as she headed to the balcony. She flipped open the pack Nao threw at her and lit up. _That's exactly how I met her!_ she thought, snorting at the memory.

XXX

Mai was away on a trip with her mother to collect fresh samples for their researches and was thus excused from school. Seeing no point in heading to classes to subject herself to a boring, drab lecture without a buddy, the sixteen year old decided to cut classes to tinker with her latest gadget for her bike. She tightened the bolt and looked at her bike proudly. _This would definitely increase acceleration and stability! _She rubbed her hands in glee. "Winston!" She called for her faithful companion of three years. "Could you run the stimulation of the added enhancement and give me the percentage increase across the board?"

He complied, in less than a few seconds, he responded, "That will be a 3.39% added acceleration and will translate into a 1.42 second decrease in pick up from 0 to 60. However, I have to warn you that the current state of the new enhancement still has a 35% chance of overheating due to the lack of a stabilizing agent in the combustion chamber. There is a fair chance of throwing off stability as the weight of the bike will not be able to counteract that surge upon overheating." Winston cautioned.

"Oh to hell with it, I'm dying to take it out for a spin! Open the garage doors! I want to test it out." She commanded, suiting up and strapped her helmet on. The visor screen glowed blue momentarily, indicating that the communication device that linked Winston up was booted. She clambered on and revved the engine before speeding out of the estate.

_Ah, this is the life_. She thought as felt her hair flapped in the wind. She turned at the corner and went on to the winding road that led down to the other part of town. It was a rather long way up and it was relatively deserted. Gripping the handle, she easily picked up speed and cleared bend after bend. After every bend, she was picking up speed and was pushing it, but her impulsive teenage self was overwhelming her logical side.

"Suki I have to warn you..." Winston's voice came through the helmet. She heard a metallic whine and in that split second, she felt her bike wobble slightly. _Shit_. She braced herself for impact. She felt herself fly and something slam against her chest, knocking the air out of her. Her body soon met the rough tar surface and she tumbled across the expanse, collecting a series of gaping gashes. Her body scraped to a stop and she groaned. She lay on the road, motionless for an undeterminable amount of time as she felt herself losing consciousness. "Suki..." Winston's crackled voice was the last thing she heard before the darkness took over.

She opened her eyes to a glaring white light and she attempted to use her left arm to shove the offending source away. She felt an intense jolt of pain, "Fuck!" she gasped.

"I wouldn't move about if I were you." A familiar voice lectured, and took out a needle filled with clear liquid, administering it on her right arm. "We just had to go through a rather lengthy operation to get that chunk of debris lodged near your shoulder. You're just plain lucky that it didn't get lodged in any deeper or it wouldn't be me you're seeing right now." She commented, causally picking up a metallic tray from her desk and placed it in front of Natsuki. It contained a sharp piece of what she deduced to be a fragment of her bike. "Here, a souvenir."

Natsuki closed her eyes and groaned, "What happened to my bike?" before succumbing to the medication as she felt herself drifting in and out of sleep.

Youko raised a questioning eyebrow at the young girl's priorities. She heaved a sigh and was about to continue dressing the multitude of wounds on the young, battered body when the door swung open and two women with worried expressions on their faces hustled in, immediately taking two separate sides of the bed.

The older Kuga put her hand on her daughter's cheek. She turned to Youko, "How is she? We were a couple of hours off from Windbloom and rushed over here as soon as I got the news from Winston."

"She had a chunk of the debris lodged in her left pecs, it barely missed her heart by a few centimetres. Well, with the way she was riding, it's a miracle she survived. Winston showed me the footage." Youko shook her head and pulled open a screen from her tablet. The screen flickered and the women watched.

"Oh God, please tell me that number is just a file number of the video." Mai pointed at the flashing three digit number that was at the side of the footage. It was a first person view and Mai was watching, mouth agape at the neck breaking speed. They heard the same whine of the engine and in an instant; the bike was careening off to the left, violently flinging its rider to the road before both scraped to a stop as a tangled metallic mess.

Saeko shook her head with a grim expression on her face, "No, that's her speed. This child will be the death of me. Skipping classes to run off and kill herself. I wonder what goes on in that mind of hers." She rubbed her temples. "I hope Alyssa doesn't go through this phase too or it'll nick another ten years off my life."

"Don't worry, Aunt Saeko, Alyssa is such a little angel. Besides, she's not into the same hobbies that Natsuki has. She's topping middle school now, isn't she?" Mai attempted to comfort Saeko.

"So ... I am ...devil?" Everyone turned to look at the slurring girl who trying to keep herself awake, muttering incomprehensively.

Youko gently pushed her head back against the pillow as Natsuki fell back asleep. "Sorry, I gave her some painkillers and it knocks you out." Mai and Saeko nodded in understanding.

The next few weeks were spent taking care of the recuperating Natsuki.

XXX

"Winston, tell me when they've left!" She hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. In her haste, she walked into the door frame and slammed her left shoulder blade. "AHHH!" She bent over and placed a hand over her recovering injury. "Fuck I've no time for this!" She yelled to no one in particular and looked down at her wound. _No blood is a good sign._ Satisfied that it was still holding up, she barked, "Winston, get Yamada on, now."

The line beeped and a voice grunted into the phone.

"What, is that your standard greeting now?" She questioned gruffly. He was about to retort but she cut him off, "I need the goods today. I only have a small time frame so meet me at the usual in fifteen."

"See you there, Kuga."

She hastily brushed her teeth while hopping into a pair of jeans. "They've left." Winston chimed. Pulling on a shirt and throwing on a jacket, she grabbed her keys and dashed to the garage. Hopping into the car, sped out of the driveway and left for her destination.

She passed through multiple gates at the different walls separating the city. Without much hassle, she cleared security stationed at the gates. Turning the corner, she pulling up beside a dingy bar at the lower end of town, she brushed off the stares directed at her as she stepped out.

Striding past leering men, she made her way to the table where she spotted a familiar figure hunched over the table. "Yamada." she greeted, taking a seat beside him.

He nodded a greeting and shoved a parcel across the table. "What you wanted."

A rather scantily clad female walked up to their table and addressed Natsuki. "What'll you have?"

"Irish Car Bomb, thanks." She replied in a clipped tone. "Purified?" she turned to Yamada as the woman left with her orders.

"Yup, the best there is out there right now. I doubt you can find any better out there. It's almost 97%, so work with it." He responded and took another swig at his drink. "By the way, I heard you were out gallivanting and met with an accident?" It was his way of showing concern – sarcasm.

"Yeah, my accelerant gadget needed a stabilizing agent. I took off without it. It overheated, supplied too much power and threw off my stability." She thanked the lady who brought her the drink. "Well, I'm supposed to be resting but my mom had to go with Alyssa to her school for some function today, so it's the only time I got to get this." She downed her shot in a gulp, reached into her pockets and pulled out an envelope. "Here, gotta run, thanks." She stood up promptly, tucked the package in her jacket and turned to leave.

"Take care, Natsuki." He muttered. She heard him, but chose to ignore it and left the bar.

Just as she stepped out, she saw a flash of red and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor, with the redhead on top of her. "Ughhh" she winced as she felt the pain in her left shoulder pulsating. She shoved the girl off her with her right arm. "Watch where you're going!" she growled and got up, dusting her jeans. The girl flashed a grin and took off, disappearing into the one of the alleys.

She unlocked her car and glanced at her watch, "Phew, more than enough time." And she left the bar and made her way toward the gates. "ID please." The officer droned in monotone. She rummaged her pockets. _Fuck! Where is it, I just had it!_ Her mind raced and she replayed the events of the past half an hour. _THAT GIRL! _She snorted furiously at her own carelessness in her haste to rush home. "Just let me in. I'm from Kuga Tech. My ID got stolen. If you let me in, I could prove it to you when I get back." She reasoned with the guard.

"Uh huh, I've heard that a million times. Sorry, no ID no entry. Please remove your vehicle from the line." The guard gave her a bored look.

"No I'm serious! It's IMPERATIVE that I get back NOW!" she panicked as she thought of her rampaging angry mother if she found out she had snuck out, again.

"Sorry ma'am, you'd have to remove your vehicle from the line."

"Arrrrrghhh! YOU...!" She yelled. "FINE!" she threw her gear into reverse and floored the pedal, almost ploughing the annoying guard down and drove off. "WINSTON!" She barked at the vehicle. "GET ME MAI NOW."

"As you wish." Winston's AI was smart enough to know better to cross her when she was in one of her moods.

"Hey Natsuki! What's up!" Mai's voice came through the speakers.

"I GOT FUCKING ROBBED, THAT'S WHAT!" she roared.

"Robbed?! How?! I don't think anyone will commit robbery in our area." Mai reasoned.

"I WAS ROBBED AT THE BAR BY THE WESTERN EDGE OF WINDBLOOM!"

"WHAT?! Why are you THERE? And WHY are you out? You should be resting at home! Aunt Saeko's gonna have a fit if she finds out you were sneaking off again. And you've not even fully recovered!" she shrieked through the speakers, causing Natsuki to wince.

"That's why I need your help to get me past the gates. The damn guards won't let me through without the ID and I need to get home before Mom gets home from Alyssa's school! I'm gonna track down that annoying redheaded thief now! Can you meet me at West Gate as soon as you can?"

"Okay, okay! I'm coming, send your co-ordinates too, in case! Be careful! That's a dangerous part of the city." Natsuki grunted in response and ended the transmission. She pulled up by the side of the road and examined herself. _Okay, she bumped right into me, maybe she left something behind that I can use. Ah! _She fished a strand of red hair that was tucked between her shirt and jacket. _Got you now you little no good, troublemaking devil! _She pulled up the screen in the car and typed furiously on it. The screen flashed the WPD logo and she was in the system. Sliding it to the left, she opened another window that flashed a DNA logo. She slid the strand through a slot located at the car's central panel. "Winston, find me a match in the system with this redhead's DNA. Give me everything. Let's see if we're lucky." She commanded.

A faint beep was heard and Winston's voice came through the speakers. "Nao Yuuki, age fifteen. Education, NIL. Wanted for multiple petty thefts, substance abuse, identity theft and alleged robbery. Last known residence, Windbloom City, Lower Ring, Western Street 392, Flemming Building, Unit 03-23." Once she heard the address, she sped off toward the said location. Arriving at the dingy building, she grabbed an energy stun gun from the glove compartment, tucked it safely at the back of her jeans and headed to the front doors.

Striding up the stairway of the apartment block, she arrived at Unit 03-23. She barrelled her way through the door and found herself looking at the all too familiar redhead pressing herself against the wall in the living room in front of a large man. The whole apartment reeked of alcohol. She frowned and glanced at the redhead - she looked battered, with fresh blood trailing down her lips. She saw the look in the girl's eyes – fear. She addressed the man, "I've got business to settle with her."

He eyed her suspiciously and drawled, "Well, she's all booked up for the day, so scram, if ya know what's good for ya."

"I just need my wallet. She stole it from me. It's just there." She pointed to the counter by the kitchen where she had spotted her belonging. "I'd just take it and be on my way. I don't want any problems."

"Fine, get it and get the hell outta my sight. And if I hear anything about you speaking of what happened here today, you'll be sorry. Trust me." The tipsy man threatened.

"Yes, yes of course." She caught the redhead's gaze momentarily, grabbed her wallet and made her way out of the door, slamming it shut. *thump thump thump* She faked her footsteps down the creaky hall. She pulled out her wrist tablet and punched in a string of words and numbers. She looked at the time. 10:23AM.

Shortly after her "departure", she heard movement within the apartment and was soon followed by a loud thud. "You dumb bitch. You head out for a whole hour and return with just one item? And then all these kinda shit just come waltzing into my apartment and asking for their things back?!" Another thud.

A girl's voice pleaded, "I was sure she didn't even know what hit her! I didn't know how she found me."

"Excuses! You're just fucking useless!" Two thuds followed by a sound of smashing glass. "I don't fucking feed ya and clothe ya just for all this shit to be happening!" The man bellowed and she heard a faint yelp of pain from within the apartment.

Pulling out the gun from behind, she kicked the door open to find the large man's hand clamped onto the girl's neck and in his other, a broken bottle of beer stained crimson. She had a nasty new gash on her forehead with fresh blood dribbling down her cheek. The man looked stunned for a moment, but he instinctively grabbed her and used her as a human shield. He threw the broken bottle at the intruder. As she ducked, he pulled a knife out from his side pockets and pressed it against the girl, drawing a faint line of blood. They stood at a standstill for a while before she spoke, "Let her go and nobody gets hurt." She stated calmly. "I'd just close one eye and you can escape through the window. I take the girl and you get to go off scot free. It's a win-win situation."

"Yea and what happened to not wanting any problems?" He sneered and tightened his grip on the girl whose head was lolling back and forth from his movements.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. You look like an adept businessman. We can make a deal. I'd pay you a fair price for her. You can recover everything you spent on feeding and clothing her plus make a handsome profit from it. What'd you say?" She spoke slowly, looking at him straight in the eye. His eyes darted and she knew he was considering her offer. She heard three faint beeps from her wrist tablet. 10:28AM.

"And ya expect me to believe a kid like can pay me off? HA!" He guffawed.

"I'm serious. I'm going to take out my wallet now. And you can see for yourself." She paused. He motioned at her in consent and she moved slowly to take out her wallet with her left hand. She pulled out the small stack of notes and raised it in the air. "See. I'm telling the truth."

"What the hell, that could pay me for a lifetime. Who the fuck are you?"

"That's irrelevant. So do you want it or not? Give me the girl, I give you the cash and you can escape from the window. Deal?" she glanced at the girl who looked like she was drifting in and out of consciousness. "Hurry up. I'm not interested in purchasing dead goods." He looked down at his captive.

"Fine. You come here." He moved toward the window dragging the hostage with him. Positioning himself so that half his body was outside, he demanded, "Give it now." She passed him the wad of cash. He grabbed it, shoved the girl into her arms and fled rapidly down the stairs by the back.

"Ahaha sucker." She chortled and looked down at the girl in her arms. "Oi. Wake up." Eliciting no response, she sighed and repositioned the redhead. She carried her bridal style down the stairs and as she stepped out into the street, she saw a fleet of WPD cars. The large man was pinned onto the hood of one of the cars as he was cuffed. She spotted a familiar mop of orange hair by her vehicle, engaged in conversation with one of the officers. "Mai!" she called.

"Natsuki! Are you alright?"

"Uh huh. I need to send this girl to the infirmary though. She got battered by the shit over there." She made her way to the car and opened the doors, gently laying the unconscious redhead on her passenger seat before closing the door. "Do you know if mom is home yet?"

"Nah, I just called her to 'ask' about some of our co-operative research materials and she volunteered to pop by my place later with Alyssa to figure out some kinks. That should buy you more time. She mentioned to me that she will be delayed by a bit because Alyssa's function is taking longer than expected." Her brows creased. "Also, she told me to check if you're fine since you're supposedly recovering. Why can't you stay out of trouble for one day!" She slapped Natuski's arm. "I was waiting by the gates and panicked when you sent me that note! I mean, what the hell is '209178 – police – behind block – eight min urgent'?"

"Well, you did fine! I mean, who else could understand my super secret spy codes besides you?" She grinned cheekily. "Besides, it's alright now isn't it? You figured the co-ordinates, got the police stationed behind the block within eight minutes and we nabbed that sick child abuser. Ah, that reminds me." She walked toward the man. Reaching into his pockets, she pulled out her wad of cash. "That's mine, thank you." He lunged at her, but was easily restrained by the officers. She quirked an eyebrow at his antics and stood by the side as he was shoved into the patrol car, still struggling. She murmured something to the officers when they were done, to which they nodded in agreement.

"Hey Mai." She turned back to face her best friend, "Thanks for today."

"Of course, Natsuki. You know I got your back."

She offered her a small smile, before speaking softly, "And I've always got yours."

Mai pulled her into a hug and whispered, "Even if you don't always express yourself outwardly, I know that." Pulling away, she chirped, "That's a first for you though. I mean, we've been friends since we were six! And after ten years, this is the first time you said anything remotely emotional to me!" Before Natsuki could retort, Mai chuckled, "Well, you better get home before Aunt Saeko returns. I'll try and buy you more time." She nodded her thanks and got into the car.

XXX

She looked at the time. 10:48AM. She hummed and tapped the steering wheel, waiting by the gates for clearance. "Winston, I'll be home in twenty minutes, please assign a medbot to be at the bay by then." She requested as she looked around for the annoying guard from before – no sign of him though.

"Of course." came his reply.

The girl shifted in her seat and faced the windows, grimacing slightly from the movement. _Looks like she's awake now. _The guard scanned her ID and they passed through.

"You came back." The girl suddenly spoke.

"Uh, yeah I did." She drummed her fingers against the wheel. "Someone will take a look at you."

"I'm used to it, it'll heal." There was an awkward silence for a good ten minutes as they drove through the roads and it wasn't until they passed by rows of neatly manicured trees by the sprawling estates, before she spoke up again, "Huh. So this is your world."

Natsuki furrowed her brow, "Huh? What do you mean?" She caught the redhead wincing in pain as the girl shifted in her seat again. The gash on her forehead was deeper then she had expected it to be and she was bleeding on the seats. "Hang on, we'll be there in three."

The car screeched to a stop, as she promptly hopped out of the vehicle and lifted the semi-conscious girl up. She strode down the stairway and arrived at the medical laboratories. Catching sight of the medbot, she placed the girl down on the gurney as the robot approached her. "She's bleeding. Got beaten up. Fix her up and make sure she doesn't run off. I will be back in a bit." She commanded the medbot and went back upstairs to her room to change as she had splotches of blood all over.

She stashed her precious package from Yamada before she took a quick shower, threw on a set of new clothes and grabbed her pack of cigarettes before heading back down to the infirmary.

"So how's she?" She asked the medbot as she walked into the room. The girl was lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

"I have stitched up her wound on her forehead. Most of her cuts are superficial and I have cleaned it up. The X-ray shows signs of fractured bones on her left ribs. However, I have also picked up some signs that she probably broke her rib cage at multiple times and it did not heal properly." The medbot flashed the scans. "She needs time and proper rest in order for the bones to fully heal."

"No. Let me go." The redhead spoke up.

Natsuki faced her. "No you're not going anywhere."

"Yes I am, I ain't sticking around for all the goddamn shit of your kind. I want to go back." She got up, frowning slightly from her injuries.

Natsuki bristled and growled at the stubborn girl. "What the hell do you mean. You have nothing left for you there. Just stay put and I'll make the damn arrangements for you."

"That's exactly what I mean. I'm not gonna be tied down like some mutt here, taking orders from people like you every single damn day. I want to go back. I need to go back."

Natsuki sighed, she decided to change her tactics when speaking to the girl, "Listen. You could have a much better life here then you could have. What could you possibly have that you need to go back so desperately for?"

Silence.

"I…" the girl stuttered. "My mom." She breathed.

"Your mom?" Natsuki looked puzzled.

"She's in a coma. I need to go back to be with her. You came back to get me out of there and I am grateful, but please, let me go. I can't pay you back the sum of money, but this will be the last you see of me, I promise. I can't be stuck here being a slave." She begged, knowing that the odds were against her.

Natsuki frowned and took a seat beside the redhead, deep in thought. She spoke softly, "I'm not making you my slave or whatever it is you seem to assume, you know."

"Then what? I heard you even though I was semi-conscious. You made some deal with that bastard and offered to buy me."

Natsuki shook her head, "No, you misunderstand me. I didn't buy you over, jeez." She proceeded to tell the redhead of the many facts that she missed when she was drifting in and out of consciousness – that the monetary offer was just a hoax so that the greedy man would release her as a hostage without unnecessary trouble. She explained, "I didn't come back to buy a slave and neither did I do it out of pity. I genuinely wanted to help you and get you out of there. I could see the look in your eyes when I left the first time with my wallet. Anyway, what I'm offering is a job that I think will suit you and your …" She looked up, pondering for a second. "… skills. You will earn a proper wage, get a decent place to live in and be able to take care of your mom. But whatever it is, you still have a choice, after you recover, that is. I have to be somewhere right now, but do consider." She stood up to leave as the redhead was staring at the foot of her bed with a blank look on her face.

A hand grabbed hers as she was about to walk away. "Yuuki, Nao." The girl whispered.

"Kuga, Natsuki." She offered in return.

"Why me?" Nao questioned.

"Hum. Just be glad it was me you robbed outside the bar." She replied, garnering an impish grin from the younger girl. "What. Why are you smiling like that?" She paused and narrowed her eyes. "Are you up to something again?!" She bellowed and felt her pockets.

Nao whisked out a pack of cigarettes and handed it over, still grinning impishly.

"Like I said, skills." Natsuki snorted and left the infirmary, failing to notice the look that Nao was giving her.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ok. NatNao in this chapter. This chapter also ties up the first potion of the storyline. Shizuru in the next chapter.

**Chapter 5**

_Italics – Thoughts_

She heard the rumble of the monstrous machine before she spotted it, and she turned to face in its direction. As expected, she soon spied the familiar silhouette. She waved as it pulled to a stop by the school, the driver cutting the engine by the pavement.

"Hey Alyssa! Get on! We're running late!" her sister shouted as she hopped out of the car to assist Alyssa, who was wearing a formal, form fitting dark black dress with glistening silver patterns along the side and a matching set of necklace.

"I was waiting here for the past fifteen minutes!" she grumbled as she got into the car. She thanked the Heavens that Natsuki had decided to be practical for once and not ride a bike when they were heading to a formal event. She strapped on her safety belt and they were off. It was Tokiha Foodstuff's annual event and it happened to coincide with Alyssa's school term break. She and Natsuki made sure they were present every year to support Mai. Alyssa knew it was important to her sister and besides, it was great to hang out with everyone else, especially the ever mischievous Nao and the spontaneous Mikoto.

She smiled inwardly at the memories as she recalled her childhood times. When she moved onto first grade, they often met for lunch at the cafeteria and that's where she met Haruka, two years Natsuki's senior and Yukino, a year older than Natsuki. It wasn't until they graduated that Alyssa had lesser contact with them, mostly because they were all busy with their respective responsibilities and she was busy with schoolwork.

She glanced at her sister who was frowning in concentration as she whizzed past traffic. Natsuki was wearing a dark blue suit with silver cufflinks. She ran one hand through her hair in frustration as she tapped on the steering wheel whenever she had to stop. _Patience was certainly not one of her traits. I wonder if she would be patient with her other half... if she ever got one, that is. Natsuki wasn't known as the ice princess for nothing. All feared the wrath of the nonchalant girl who had an arsenal of guns and cannons at her disposal, and wouldn't think twice to use it when angered. _Alyssa laughed out loud, imagining her sister rearing a monstrous icicle head while firing her guns at the next person who dared intrude her precious personal space.

"What are you laughing at?" Natsuki demanded.

"Nothing." Alyssa said innocently.

"Tell me." Natsuki frowned.

"Just imagining how you would deal with your other half. You know, when your personal space is breached when you do this and that." Alyssa collapsed on the seat laughing.

"What?!" Natuski turned red. "Why the hell are you thinking that?"

"You need someone. You're so wound up! I mean, as much as I know, you never let anyone close enough to you to try." she grinned evilly. "Oh stop blushing, there's nothing wrong with talking about it. So tell me, do you like anyone?" she sniggered, her blue eyes glimmering with mischievousness.

"No I'm not blushing! And I don't like anyone!" Natsuki practically jumped out of her seat.

"Watch the road. I want to arrive there in one piece." She responded calmly.

Natsuki muttered something incoherent, Alyssa knew better and just classified it as 'Natuski's annoyed ramblings which doesn't make any sense.' They pulled over shortly and Natuski helped her sister out of the car. Alyssa grasped onto her arm as they hurried up the steps to the building and spotted their friends already seated inside the grand ballroom. Mai had already begun her speech and as they shuffled their way toward the table, Alyssa caught Mai's eyes and she gave an apologetic nod for their tardiness.

After the dinner event, they were gathered round the table and the conversation took a turn for their impending trip that was due to depart in a few days' time.

"I have already briefed the crew for departure. The ship has been inspected and passed the mechanical team's checks." Mikoto quipped as she latched herself onto Mai's arm in a jovial manner. The older girl smiled and added, "I also had a meeting with Youko and so far, everything has been on track. The supplies have been approved and they're loading it up on the ship right now." Turning to Natsuki, she whispered, "Including your mayo pellets."

Perking up at the sound of her favorite condiment, Natsuki turned to Nao, "How about your side?"

"We're locked and loaded, ready to go on your command, boss." Nao grinned, earning herself a glare.

Haruka nodded, "Great, looks like we're on track."

"Yeah, I've collected the Durans from the team members and re-inspected them. Most of them just required slight maintenance, but otherwise, everything else seems like its good to go." Natsuki looked at her watch "I guess it's best if we head back to rest up.", earning nods from the rest.

XXX

She flipped on her welding helmet. "Jack input by 20%, please." She knelt down and directed the plasma welder to the chrome pipes of the machine as she paused once in a while to take a look. Finally satisfied with the completed task, she got up while flipping her helmet up and took off her gloves. She held her navy hair back in a casual ponytail and exhaled, taking a step back to look at her finished work.

Duran N5 was the latest of the series, which she had developed separately from the other lines. Durans, however, were only commissioned to a selected group of individuals in her team. Kuga Tech, did, however, mass market their other ranges, from weapons to armor to outfit Windbloom's military.

The doors slid open and she looked up. Alyssa walked into her sister's large den, munching on a sandwich. She handed a plate to Natsuki. "Here, I made your favourite for supper." She chimed. The scent of the fatty goodness that was mayonnaise perked her senses and she grabbed a towel and wiped her hands clean. Alyssa started the conversation, "So you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Uh huh. I'm finishing up on Duran here. I've prepared 3 sets to go for myself." She motioned to the glistening metallic machine in front of them. "I also finished up on Nao's and Mai's suit." She added as she took another bite. "Hey wanna see something?" She said excitedly and Alysaa nodded.

She finished the remaining bits of her sandwich and hopped into the suit. "Look, I've added new plasma blades to the weapons array." Her voice came through the suit as she extended and retracted the glowing blades. She whirled herself around, slicing the blade through the air before she spotted a small side desk and sliced clean through it, causing the two halves to collapse in a crash. "Oh, and I've also modified weapons changing speeds." She demonstrated as the machine whirred, changing from a range of different weapons – from shotguns to laser guns – in less than a few seconds.

"Have you fixed the electromagnetic issue that you mentioned previously on the phone?"

"Oh yeah, I figured out what was jamming the signal. I'm using that for defence, though. Right now it has a diameter of about six feet. Stand back!" Alyssa complied and watched in awe as the suit was engulfed in a blue shimmer. "Hey, throw something at me!" Natsuki beckoned at Alyssa.

"Throw what?" Alyssa looked around the messy table scattered with tools.

"Uhm... throw the plate!"

"What! That's mom's favourite china set!"

"She won't notice one missing!" Natuski argued. "Throw it!" she urged.

Alyssa's eyes darted around, "Fine! But you know mom's gonna find out!" she took the plate and flung it hard at her sister. The plate touched the faint blue shimmer and was promptly repulsed; it was sent flying through the air before smashing into the wall.

"Ahahaha cool." Natuski cheered from inside the suit.

"What's cool?" Saeko's spoke up as she walked down the stairs. She had heard the racket from the living room and decided to see what her daughters were up to. Her eyes immediately trained on the unsightly halved desk and then to a mess of porcelain on the floor nearby.

"Uh." Natsuki stammered nervously, faceplate sliding up. "I was experimenting. Alyssa was helping me." She shot a glance at her sister, whose bright blue eyes were widened with guilt. Alyssa shot her an 'I told you so!' look and added, "Yeah mom, we're just testing the electromagnets that Suki just figured out! It works, wanna see?" she attempted to divert the conversation.

Saeko knew better and walked toward the small porcelain pile. "With my favourite china?" she raised an eyebrow at her two children, who were busy nudging each other. She sighed, watching the two sisters engage in their silly banter that she had grown so used to over the years. She coughed, getting their attention "Fine Natsuki, show me the electromagnets and give me a demonstration with the latest Duran."

"Ah! Of course!" Natsuki nodded eagerly and the faceplate snapped shut. She took a few steps backwards, "Winston, run training stimulation twenty two for N5." The room darkened slightly and both Alyssa and Saeko stepped back, knowing stimulation twenty two was mainly an agility course with a slight addition of both offense and defence training. Natuski would need her space for this. "Go." She commanded the AI. Immediately, the walls opened up at the sides and two large guns fired, pelting the suit with a flurry of bullets. Natsuki activated Duran's electroshield, easily deflecting the bullets back into the walls. The floors hissed slightly, a slight vapour mist covered the training area. Without warning, sharp sword like blades stabbed through floor. Without much effort, she weaved and sidestepped the death blades, but her back was turned against a large rod that was hurtling toward her. Alyssa inhaled softly, slightly worried. However, as if already predicting the presence of the rod, Natsuki lept up, engaging Duran's thrusters and landed on top of the swinging rod.

A stray bullet shot past her, she ducked and looked down. Winston had decided to go easy on her this time. There were only two opponents this time. She hopped off the rod and armed herself with pistols, firing at the figure to the right first. She heard a gasp and turned to concentrate on the remaining one. She couldn't spot him as the floor was still blanketed by the vapour mist. Switching to plasma blades, she crouched down slowly. Without warning, a chain shot out from the mist and she felt herself pulled toward the source. Instinctively, she used one hand and placed it on her neck to prevent herself from choking. The man swung her in a full circle in an anit-clockwise direction and flung her against the left wall. Pulling back, he repeated his aggressive attacks until he was satisfied, before reeling the limp form toward himself. He pulled out his gun, ready to blast the robot and user in the head when it suddenly whirled to life, its eye slots glowing blue. Before he knew what happened, he had a plasma blade sticking out of his back and he pixelated.

Natuski stood up and took off her helmet, letting her hair fall before brushing her hair to the side. She glanced up at her mother's approaching form. "That was rather reckless." Saeko chastised.

"Uh uh. Look." She flipped open a screen located on her left arm. "Duran only sustained 1% damage from all that impact." Natsuki muttered.

"That's not the point, Natsuki, you could have eliminated him easily without even sustaining damage." Saeko lectured her sulking daughter.

Alyssa stepped up, "Aww, come on mom, Natsuki was just showing you the different functions of the electromagnetic shield and how it can be used for both long and short range."

Natuski waggled her eyebrows at her sister with a mischievous gleam in her eye, "What she said!" pointing at Alyssa.

Saeko shook her head in defeat. "Alright, alright." She pushed Alyssa gently to the doorway. "Had enough of the both of you." Alyssa chuckled and went upstairs to bed.

"By the way, Suki, if you do find a large reserve of Helium, I think it would be best to keep mum about it first." She spoke slowly as Natsuki tilted her head with a small frown on her face. She continued, "You know how people are."

"Ah, of course, mom." She smiled.

"Go to bed early, it's gonna be a long day for you tomorrow."

XXX

She had a backpack slung over one shoulder and a luggage by her side as she glanced at the towering metallic ship from within the port. It had four levels of livable space in total. The topmost deck was reserved for the flight crew and commanding officers. The laboratories were also situated on this level. The following two levels were reserved for the rest of the company, there were approximately sixty five rooms in total and each room bunked about four soldiers. Toward the back of the ship, there was also a canteen, a large gym and a small entertainment room on both levels. However, her favorite part of the ship was the lowest deck. It had Kuga Tech's plethora of armory and weaponry. Moreover, when she designed the ship, she created a small area accessible only to her, where she could work on her gadgets. It came with everything she needed, from her tools to the AI Winston. She grinned inwardly – she would feel right at home there.

She glanced down at the ramp that led to the ship's bottommost deck. The port's crew was loading up the cargo necessary for their travels. She spied several crates that had Tokiha Foodstuff's emblems imprinted on it and hoped that one of them carried her favorite pellets.

"Suki!" she spun around and saw a flash of blonde hair before her young sixteen year old sister leapt into her arms for a hug.

"Ah… Alyssa." She croaked breathlessly. Alyssa released her sister from her grasp and beamed a bright smile. Natsuki soon spotted Mai and Saeko walking toward her.

"Mai!" she yelled for her best friend as she approached. "Is Mikoto ready for takeoff?"

"Yup! I just contacted her, she's already on the ship and we should be ready to board soon."

"Alright. Nao just reported that her company is ready as well. We should be departing on schedule. By the way, I just saw a load of your supplies going in! Did you remember to load up the mayo pellets?"

Mai chuckled, "Don't worry, I brought along a travel sized capsule for you." She handed her the metallic container. Natsuki popped it open and threw a pellet into her mouth.

"Wah. Awesomeee." She crooned in a dreamlike fashion. Everyone raised an eyebrow at blue haired girl, who was now obviously in her fantasy world made up of mayonnaise castles and flying mayonnaise elephants.

"Starliner X1 is now ready for departure. Officers, please get ready for boarding." A monotone female voice broke Natsuki out of her reverie.

"That's our call, Mai." She turned to Alyssa. "Take care of yourself, baby sis." She added, "And remember to watch out for mom." Which earned her a suddenly embrace from Saeko. Returning the hug, she dragged Alyssa and Mai in. As they broke away and both turned to head to the ship, they heard Saeko calling out, "Remember to send calls back! Take care of yourselves!" and Alyssa waving frantically. They chuckled and bid their farewells as they headed up the ramp.

XXX

Mai yawned as she took out some items from her luggage, storing them in the wardrobe. It had been an hour since they departed and she had been unpacking the whole time. She stood up, cracking some kinks out her neck and stretched. Grabbing a change of clothes, she stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower.

*Knock Knock*

"Who is it?" she called from the bathroom.

"It's Mikoto!" a cheerful voice hollered.

"Come on in, I'm in the shower! The door's unlocked!" she yelled back, trying to get herself heard over the shower. She heard the door click open.

"Mai! I just want to tell you we're already past Earth's atmosphere! My crew is manning the ship now, so I'm here! The planned course looks pretty clear ahead, there have been no reports of any stray asteroids heading down our path." Mikoto spoke as she flopped on Mai's bed.

"Mhmm, that's good. Maybe we can grab lunch after I'm done?"

"Yup! Shall I get Natsuki and Nao?"

"Natsuki told me she'll be heading down to the mech deck; I think she'll be busy with her work. I haven't seen Nao yet though." Mai replied, stepping out of the shower and grabbing a bathrobe. She slid open the bathroom door and saw Mikoto lying on her bed, in her handsome flight uniform. She smiled at the young Lieutenant who had just graduated from flight school at eighteen. Mikoto sat up by the edge of the bed and grinned at Mai, beckoning her over. Mai walked over and positioned herself sideways on Mikoto's lap, wrapping her arms around Mikoto's neck. She gave her a soft peck on the cheek before standing up, "Let me get changed and we'll head to the cafeteria."

XXX

Nao was sitting by a table in the cafeteria, engaged in casual conversation with some of her soldiers. The latest topic today was on the dogfights held back home.

"Damn, I put a grand on Howling Wind and he got trounced in a heartbeat!" a girl complained.

"Well, that's better than what I got! In the previous season, my guy tipped me and said that Bowlzer would be the sure champ! And I believed him too 'cause he was going up against that pitiful mutt, Snow. I mean, who calls their dogs Snow?!" he grumbled, "Guess what, I lost five freaking grand. My wife had a fit!"

"The whole system's rigged, man." Another chimed in.

Nao then noticed Mai and Mikoto walking into the cafeteria. "Hey, catch up with you guys later. Gotta speak to our flight captain." she nodded in Mikoto's direction.

"Alright see ya later cap't!"

"Hey Mai!" Nao jogged over to the pair who were scooping their food.

"Nao! Have you eaten?" Mai asked cheerily, getting a nod in response.

"Do you know where Natsuki is? Nao asked.

"Eh, she said she'll be down at the mech deck, probably inspecting the machines. Is it urgent?"

"Nah, nothing, I'm just bored and I want to annoy her." Nao replied quickly before waggling her eyebrows at the amused carrot top and turned to exit the cafeteria.

XXX

"Damn. Did they put this thing through a wood grinder?" she muttered under her breath as she slid underneath the machine and accessed the damage on the Hoverterrain. Frowning, she slid out and picked up her tool by the side. The side panel of the Hoverterrain was badly damaged, with a portion of the metallic panel bent in a contorted way. She was going through the mech deck to inspect the machinery when she spotted this Hoverterrain hidden in a corner, just peeking out slightly behind the stacks of boxes.

She grunted as she pressed the stiff metal downwards, hammering out the awkwardly bent part. The machine was now opened up and she peered down inside the wiring, hoping that nothing had frayed during its manhandling. She was too absorbed in her work and she didn't notice a lone figure skulk up to her side. She jerked as the figure wrapped her arms around her waist and pushed herself away instinctively at the close contact.

"Nao? Don't sneak up on me like that." Natsuki frowned.

"Oh come on. You're so stiff." Nao whispered seductively into Natsuki's ear. She wrapped her arm around Natuski's waist and pressed them closer together.

"Ahh, here?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"Mmm, you've been so busy recently with the preparations for the trip that we didn't get any time together." Nao replied as she pushed herself against the blue haired girl, unbuttoning the first button of Natuski's uniform. "Besides, you said so yourself. It's just sex." She purred as she pushed the older girl against a nearby wall while nipping the side of her neck.

"Hell, what's there to lose." Natsuki murmured, lifting her to reposition them so that Nao was against the wall instead. Natsuki wasn't sure if it was the long hiatus, but Nao didn't put up much of a fight when they were fighting for dominance with their tongues. Natsuki wasn't sure how long exactly they were getting it on, but it seemed as though Nao had a dramatic increase in her sexual appetite. Panting, she held onto the spent girl as Nao wrapped her arms around her neck. Thoroughly exhausted, they collapsed behind the stack of boxes.

XXX

Mikoto's voice crackled through her room's communication device. "General Kuga, are you there?"

She sat up and tapped the button by her bedside, "I'm here, what is it?"

"Could you come to the flight deck? You have to see this."

"Be there in five, Captain." She turned to the figure lying on her bed. "I have to go, it has to be something important for Mikoto to call my room directly."

The redhead nodded, "Shall I head over too?" Immediately after she spoke, Mikoto's voice came again through Nao's communicator. "Nao, head up to the flight deck as soon as you can."

Nao yawned and replied, "Yeah, yeah. On my way." She glanced at the general who was pulling on her shirt. "Maybe we've arrived? It has been almost a month."

Natsuki grunted, pulling up her pants, "Maybe. I'll leave first, see you there." She buttoned up, adjusting her badges and dusted her sleeves before heading out into the hallway.

After the door slid shut, Nao rolled to the side, inhaling a whiff of the pillow. She let out a long sigh before she dragged herself up and started to get dressed.

As she walked through the cool hallways of the ship, Natsuki looked at the date on her wristwatch. It had been twenty four days since they've departed and there was practically nothing to do on the ship, since her two captains were running the ship efficiently. _Except Nao, who would come running along once in a while looking for sexual gratification, _she frowned slightly, wondering if this 'friends with benefits' thing was really beneficial for both of them. _But sex's proven to be healthy, right?_ She tried reassuring herself. _Besides, this spares me from all the baggage of relationships._ Shrugging, she slid the doors open to the flight deck.

XXX

"Captain." She addressed Mikoto. "Wow." She gaped at the green planet in front of her that was speckled with dashes of bronze. She saw two moons orbiting the planet; they looked bigger than the one on Earth. "Estimated time of arrival?" she asked, without turning to look at her Captain.

"I believe we should be there in less than an hour, give or take." Mikoto responded as Nao walked in. "Hey Nao." Mikoto addressed her co-captain. "Our estimated time to arrival will be an hour. I think it's best to prepare your land troops for arrival." Nao smirked in acknowledgement and turned to leave.

"Are Mai and Youko aware?" Natsuki asked as she crossed her hands behind her back.

"Yup, I've already informed them, but they mentioned they were in the midst of running a new test, so they decided to pass. She said something like… hybrid of supplemental properties…" Mikoto scrunched her nose and tilted her head slightly to the left.

"It's fine, Mikoto. Private, send out scout ship five and six to sniff out a suitable site for us to land." She nodded to a male soldier nearby who scurried away quickly at her orders. "Hook us up to visuals and let's see what we got." She addressed a female soldier who was manning the screen. "Get their controls on my screen." Soon, two speeding objects were seen hurtling away from the main ship and toward the planet. She walked over to her seat and sat down, Mikoto occupying the seat next to hers. The screen to her left flickered into two panels as the view changed to the cameras located on scout five and six.

"Looks like they're breaching the atmosphere soon." Mikoto commented as she watched the ships disappearing into tiny specks.

"Get a quick read of air composition for me once they're sixty thousand feet from the ground." Natuski spoke as she eyed the screen as the view changed and a clearer scene of the planet unfolded. She raised an eyebrow in surprise as she saw the large expanse of greenery, something that she'd only seen in pictures of her history texts when she was in school. She surveyed the horizon that was tinged in the golden light of the alien sun. She spotted a cluster of strange rocks that were tinged with a blue hue. She tapped the screen and redirected scout ship six over to that direction. As the ship approached, the crew looked wide eyed at the scene that unfolded before them. There was a towering waterfall, shaded by large, dangling leaves. The incessant water from the falls seemed to plunge into a huge abyss of depths unknown. She moved the ship closer to get a better view, when suddenly; it seemed to be hit by something. The camera turned upwards, catching a final view of the cerulean sky and the screen flickered black. She grimaced as she saw the dot on her screen that was indicative of the scout ship flash red and she made a mental note of the area. She turned her attention to the remaining camera that was still running. It continued its journey across the green expanse and she spotted a small clearing that was situated near a rock formation that peeked through the dense thicket.

"General, the air reports are of similar composition to those we discussed previously." Mikoto spoke up, looking at the screen in front of her.

"Mmhmm. Can we land there?" she asked as Mikoto surveyed the landscape.

"Yes. It should be wide enough, but we should get the troops to fell more trees around the area after we land as it would be better for us to get ample clearing for takeoff in the future." Mikoto advised and her general nodded.

"I'll be back." She said, before walking out.

XXX

"Councilor Youko, Mai." She greeted as she stepped into the laboratory. Youko looked up and smiled, "Good day, General."

"Natsuki! I heard Mikoto say we have the planet in sight." Mai spoke simultaneously as she scribbled something on her notepad, next to three smoking beakers. "As you can see, we couldn't be pulled from the labs, so I guess we're gonna miss it." She waved her hand at the cluttered desk.

"Yes. We will be there in less than an hour." She paused. "I need your teams to stay put in the ship first till we get the perimeters up and running. I have also left your suits next door, in case of danger." She was referring to the Durans that we had created for Mai and Youko. They had the basic weaponry and flexibility, but nothing too excessive as both of them we not fully military unlike Mikoto and Nao, who had their own specialized weaponry on their Durans. "I will inform you when everything's settled and it's safe to be about." Her eyes flashed with concern for a second, before she nodded her leave.

"Thanks, Natuski." Mai called out to the retreating figure.

As she strode through the hallway to return to the flight deck, returning a few salutes with a quick nod, she lifted her communicator, "Nao."

"Yes?"

"I want a perimeter set up once we land. Send two squads out on a one mile radius. You know the drill."

"Done."

She eased past a flurry of activity and stood beside Mikoto who was engrossed in surveying the horizon that was tinged with the golden light of the sun. "Is that the clearing?" She questioned the young captain.

Mikoto turned, slightly startled at the sudden presence which she hadn't noticed. "Yup! We're setting her down soon. Any orders upon landing, General?"

"Nao'll be setting up the perimeter and sending two squads of land scouts. I need your team to man the laser turrets of the ship before the perimeter is fully set in case of hostile forces, you can cut back by half after its set up, but we shouldn't drop it completely."

XXX

"Sergeant Okuzaki, I need two squads out there on scout patrol after we land. Start from east and west of the ship, but don't cross a mile radius." Nao pointed to the 3D map expanded in front of them. She drew a quick circle around the ship to indicate the coverage. Akira gave a quick nod.

"Sergeant Kazuya, get a perimeter up and running, I need the turrets up, pronto. Get them manned 24/7." She paused, pondering for a moment. "Connect up the electric fence while you're at it. We don't need creepy crawly aliens waltzing into our camp in the middle of the night. I rather have fried creepies for breakfast the next morning." She muttered, as she marked the map with 'X's for turret placement. She looked up, "I'll be here to oversee base camp setup. Report immediately if you find anything remotely suspicious."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Italics – Thoughts, _**Bold - Alien**

It had been a week since the team arrived and much of the basics have been set up, particularly the perimeter. They had managed to expand their scout radius slightly to two miles and Akira had come up with a detailed mapping of that area. Mai and Youko had sampled the soil of the planet and were currently testing the survivability of cultivating some of the seeds from Earth. There had been no report of any hostile activity and everyone was wondering if this lush green planet was even inhabited. In spite of their busy days, Youko had managed to convince them to accede to Haruka's request of sending a call packet back to report on their progress. Call packets were sent via an automated small ship, which took a shorter time to travel to and from Earth, roughly two weeks instead of a month, as compared to the hulking ship they had arrived in.

Natsuki paced around her room. She was bored. There wasn't much left to do these few days. There had been no attacks, no movement, no nothing. She had walked around the perimeter twice daily, inspected the entire armory almost every alternate day, went to the gym for nearly four hours a day and had even sent a thirty minute long call packet back to her mother and sister. She walked over to her suitcase and grabbed a fresh pack of cigarettes and a small knapsack. She slung the knapsack on loosely before stuffing her cigarettes in and resealed the case. She descended to the mech deck, threw her knapsack on the floor and quickly suited up into Duran with the assistance of her automated bots. "Ah, welcome back, Suki." Winston's familiar voice spoke through her helmet.

"Hey, it's been awhile. I missed your nagging." Natsuki replied as she picked up her knapsack and strapped it on, walking down the ramp and toward the camp. She glanced at the time, which she had calibrated according to the planet's cycle. 11 43AM. She headed toward the entrance of the camp, flipped up her faceplate and spoke to the guards manning the gates. "Open it. I'm headed out." She commanded.

"Uhm… Gen..eral, are you… sure it's s..safe?" a private stammered nervously.

"Yes, open it. I'm going past the two mile radius to look for a sustainable water source for future usage. I'll be fine."

"We can send a squad team; we can't afford to lose a General out here." The other guard added. "The captains would have our heads if something happened to you out there."

"Ah, and I would not have your head?"

"Uhm."

"Here, take this and open the gates." She handed a couple of sticks over. She looked at their still uncertain faces, "I could just fly out of here, you know."

"Alright, alright." He turned to the controls.

She nodded her thanks and left the compound.

XXX

She decided to head East from the camp, turning back after a while to ascertain her position. "Winston load Akira's map, plot the trail I'm taking." Her visor display changed, as the map loaded up, and Winston minimized the map to a small section on her left display. She slid up her faceplate, taking out a cigarette and lit up, looking around at the strange foliage around her. The trees here were comparatively taller than those they had on earth. She bent down and picked up a leaf. _Almost the size of my head!_ She sat down on a tree root, puffing. She slid her faceplate back on after she was done, and trudged on further, glancing at her map occasionally. She was crossing the one and a half mile mark soon and it had crossed noon awhile back.

She frowned inwardly; she had felt a presence that seemed to be watching her about half a mile back, but brushed it off. However, the feeling was getting stronger. She paused for a minute, bending down to examine a tree root. Without warning, she spun around. She caught a sight of a slight shimmer to her right and frowned, activating her twin revolvers.

"Enhance sound." She whispered to Winston.

*Creak*

She turned upwards and fired. Something hissed at her and she grunted in pain as it dropped on top of her, pinning her down. All of a sudden, dangling vines from the treetops extended and constricted her legs in a bid to tie her down. She activated the electromagnetic field to break away and the figure was flung against a tree from the force. Taking the opportunity to catch her breath, she looked up. It was a … metallic woman…? The woman was encased in what seemed to be sort of armor, except it was extremely form fitting. The metallic plates stripped across her body in a horizontal fashion and Natsuki watched as she got up, supporting herself with what looked like a polearm. The armor was not the least bit cumbersome and it was streamlined to the movements of the attacker_. _Natsuki readied herself as the woman locked eyes with her. _What the fuck, red eyes?_

Her opponent made the first move. She twisted a full circle and the end of her weapon extended into a long cord, which she hurled at Natsuki at breakneck speed. Natsuki blocked the attack with her right arm and the cord laced itself around her arm as her attacker pulled her weapon back, tightening the cords. Natsuki glanced down quickly. The cord was laced with metallic teeth, and if it hadn't been for Duran, her arm would have been mincemeat by now. She wound the cord once over with her arm, grasping it firmly with her hands, digging Duran into the ground and tugged at it in a bid to disarm the woman. The metallic alien suddenly changed her tactics and charged towards her. Natsuki released her grip on the cord and steadied herself for the impending impact, but frowned when the alien stopped midway, retracting her coils and disappeared into a faint cerulean shimmer. Bewildered, Natsuki scanned the area, only to find her opponent materializing, perched on a rock a distance away. _Damn this trickster! She can disappear! _

Annoyed, she grabbed a small object by her side and threw it, engulfing the battleground with a thick mist. _Two can play at your sneaky games_. She switched both weapons to her guns and fired at the rock before she ducked into the growing mist for cover whilst switching to her blades. "Scan for heat." Her helmet whirled softly as she got a clearer view. She spotted the red outline of her opponent and smirked. She snuck close enough and sliced. The contact resounded in a sickening scrape between both weapons. _Fuck, she saw it coming? _Natsuki followed up with a flurry of successive strikes, which were parried and the alien countered with some attacks of her own with her long weapon.

"Ugh." Natsuki grunted as another vine tugged onto her left leg, causing her to lose her balance momentarily. _This is ridiculous, it's like the whole environment is working for her._ _I wonder what else she has up her sleeve? _Natsuki knew that she had to end this quickly or it might take a turn for the worse. She spied a large rock sticking out a few feet behind. She shifted her weight and subtly redirected the fight toward it. The alien stumbled and landed on her back, her head smashing hard onto the ground. Natsuki saw her opening and raised the blade, bringing it down swiftly on the defenseless creature. Just before it made contact, she stopped short and she creased her brows, looking confused. _What was that? I swear I felt something. _She looked down. The armored creature was frozen in place, neither blinking nor moving. _Huh?_ She noticed a ray of light above her and looked up and saw a blurred hooded figure clad in silver. She squinted at it, but as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

The red-eyed alien opened her eyes and saw her opponent looking strangely confused, her blade just inches from her chest, about to slice her torso open. She gasped in shock when she saw a silver hooded figure superimposed over her opponent's form. Immediately taking the opportunity, she pushed herself up with her arms, flipped up and landed a square kick to the standing figure's jaw. Her metallic plates collided against the armor, knocking the helmet right off and a lock of blue hair spilled out as the helmet rolled to the floor with a clang. The alien swung her weapon, knocking the blue haired girl right in the head, catching her as she blacked out.

XXX

"She did WHAT?!"

"Uh. We had to, captain. Or she'd have our heads."

"You got to be fucking me. And you let her, just like that. Just like that?!" She barked, "And why didn't one of you numbskulls offer to go along?" Both looked at one another, stumped.

"We're on a fucking alien planet a months' worth of travel from home. And you just ... Argggghh." Nao raged.

Mai looked at Mikoto, who turned to the two guards. "You're dismissed, we will speak about this later."

"What! No! We will talk about it now!"

"Nao." Mai grabbed Nao's shoulder. "Let's talk about it separately." She waved the two off.

Youko face was grim, "Our orders were to leave immediately if there were any hostile forces."

"We aren't leaving this place until she's back." Nao snapped.

"Youko, we can't assume that there are hostile forces out there. Perhaps Natsuki just got lost." Mai frowned. She was not going to leave this place without her friend. "Besides, there have been no reports of any attacks whatsoever since we landed."

Mikoto added, "I will not leave without her without any proof of hostile forces, and that means, until my ship is attacked."

Youko pondered for a moment. "Alright let's just wait for her to get back. As long as there's no threat to us as yet, we have no reason to leave. I suggest we not send this information back to Earth, though. It might stir up even more then we bargained for." All three nodded their consent, decided against sending another call packet to earth for fear they would be called back, leaving their friend behind.

"Let's just fucking delay it! Who's gonna make us!" Nao proclaimed. "Besides, we just sent one back. So we should be in the clear."

Mai nodded before she spoke, "Nao, could you send out a search team daily? Youko and I will continue our germination. Mikoto, just continue what Natsuki has assigned you to do. We will maintain status quo as much as possible to avoid panicking the troops. As of now, General Kuga is sick in bed and no one is to enter her room except for us."

XXX

Natsuki cracked open her eyes and held a hand to her forehead_._ She was having the worse headache ever and it felt like she just had a massive hangover. She turned her head to the side and saw a woman with tawny hair, lying on the ground with her back against her.She eyed the prone figure. No signs of metallic armor. Weird. She tried to focus her thoughts. _Ah... that thing must've knocked me out good after I stupidly lost my concentration after the weird hallucination._ _But how did I end up here? Who is this person?_ She looked around. They were in some sort of a clumsily constructed hut and a slight ray of sunlight was filtering in through the only window in the room.

She shifted in bed and tried to prop herself up but found her movements restricted. She looked down and saw a crude metal-like restraint binding her hands. _Hm, Duran is still on me?_ She looked at the time. 8AM. She had been out the entire night. Shaking her head, she tried to activate her energy shield, but to no avail. The damn restraint wouldn't budge because the electromagnets wouldn't work. She let out a frustrated growl as she noticed the figure stirring, stifling a small yawn, before turning around, and opened her eyes. Red met green.

_Fuck it's that thing!_ Natsuki stumbled backwards on the ground, _that's the damned metallic thing that fucking bludgeoned my brains out. What the fuck, how did she look so different now? In fact, she looks almost human._ She searched the room for signs of the metal plates that the woman had donned during combat, but there was none. _This is just peachy. I think I left my brains back there. Nothing makes sense. _The woman, who had been studying Natsuki with an amused look, as she was having her own internal argument, spoke up, "**You saw Zo'yair, didn't you?" **She paused, "**You know, she does not appear to many**."

Natsuki narrowed her eyes at the weird woman who was speaking some strange mumbo jumbo, she caught a glimpse of an inch long fang on both sides. _Alright, definitely not human._ Natsuki eyed her as she got up and moved about the room, grabbing a crude bowl nearby. The alien was wearing something that looked like a toga. It was draped loosely against her right shoulder, adorned by a long sash trimmed with a thin purple lining, while exposing her left shoulders. Her arms were covered in a sheer, semi translucent material and a thin golden string was laced at the waist, accenting her curves slightly. The dress ended somewhere near her ankles, but there was a slit on the right side that ran rather high up, exposing her legs whenever she walked. She walked over to Natsuki and handed the bowl to her, "**I think you are here for a reason. I want to bring you back to my city."**

Natsuki was staring down at the green liquid in the bowl as the woman spoke, looking at it with distaste. The woman chuckled, took the bowl out of Natsuki's hands and sipped. She returned the bowl back into Natsuki's armored hands. Natsuki lifted the bowl with both her bound hands and brought it to her face, sniffing at it. She looked at her captor, who was smiling away at her. Natsuki scowled. _What is wrong with this woman?_ She gave the alien a defiant glare and gulped the entire content down. The alien widened her smile and pulled out a bunch of grape like things, except they were almost triple the size of a grape and were blue in color. She peeled it open, exposing a white centre and popped one into her mouth. She picked up another and peeled it, offering it to Natsuki.

"I don't need to be fed." She growled angrily, but as she spoke, her betraying stomach rumbled and they both looked down at it. She raised a questioning eyebrow at Natsuki whose face turned into a flaming shade of red.

The woman smiled softly, shaking her head, "**Ara, how adorable**." before popping it into Natsuki's mouth. Natsuki chewed. It was sweet and slightly spongy.

"**Quates.**" the woman said picking up one from the bunch, before peeling it and feeding it to Natsuki.

Natsuki understood and mimicked her captor, "Quates.", earning herself a delighted smile from the alien. Natsuki eyed the alien carefully, baffled at the 360 change. This woman had just knocked the crap out of her but here she was, feeding her?

It wasn't long before they finished eating. Refilling the bowl from her satchel, the alien took another sip of the green liquid before speaking. "**What's your name?**"

Natsuki looked at her quizzically. The woman put a hand on herself. "**Shizuru**." Natsuki gave her a blank look. She tapped her hand against her chest, "**Shizuru**." Natsuki thought for a moment before her face changed into that of realization. Nodding she repeated, "Shizuru?"

Shizuru looked absolutely excited. She placed a hand on Natsuki's chest. She tapped Natsuki's chest and her red eyes peered expectantly into Natsuki's forest green ones. Natsuki felt mildly surprised at the eye contact, but she responded. "Ah, you want to know my name?" Natsuki pointed to herself. Shizuru nodded. "Natsuki."

"**Ara, Natsuki**."

XXX

Natsuki took a quick glimpse of her watch. It had been three days since she had been captured by Shizuru. Natsuki wasn't able to escape without fixing up her shield on Duran without any parts and her helmet; which Shizuru carried along in her satchel at all times. She couldn't get communication back to camp. The only thing Natsuki worried about was how her friends must be panicking at her disappearance, but she figured this was an excellent opportunity. Risky but excellent, because according to Shizuru, she was bringing Natsuki back to wherever it is she came from. It would be a great opportunity to find out about the native life forms here. Though she was still bound by her hands, Shizuru had been nothing but amicable to her. Throughout the day, they made simple conversation and by now, Natsuki had picked up some basic words that Shizuru had taught her and they were trying to speak in each other's native tongue. However, it appeared as though Shizuru was much better at conversing in Terran as she could converse more fluently by the end of three days. As they trudged along, Natsuki asked in broken alien, "**Shizuru, how many days there?"**

"Eleven. We rest and eat first?" Shizuru responded in broken Terran, looking concerned.

"**No …**." Natsuki murmured, "**Asking.**" She scratched her head, trying to put her words together.

Shizuru laughed lightly at her charming companion, before setting herself down on a rock, dug some quates out and started on them. She looked into the distance as she peeled them, deep in thought. "**Shizuru. Are you alright? You look … tired.**"Natsuki sat on the ground in front of Shizuru.

Shizuru smiled and shook her head, "I am fine."

Natsuki tilted her head at Shizuru and frowned. She was mystified at the number of times Shizuru could smile in one day. She got a feeling that sometimes, even though she had a smile on, it wasn't real. It didn't feel real at all. Especially on occasions like this. It was quite annoying to face it daily and the more Natsuki thought about it, the more annoyed she got. "**Stop it**." She snapped. "**Don't smile if you don't mean it.**" Natsuki faced the other way and meddled with her armored boots with her hands.

Shizuru was startled at the sudden outburst; she was not accustomed to a brash display of emotion like that. Seeing Natsuki like that made her worry suddenly and a frown marred her face. At the back of her mind, she wondered why she cared but she brushed it aside, getting off her perch and knelt down elegantly beside her companion. "Natsuki."

No response.

"Natsuki."

The girl got up and walked off.

"Natsuki, wait." She grabbed Natsuki's hand and the girl stiffened. "Sorry." Shizuru immediately released her grip.

"Let's move."

Shizuru, not knowing what else to say, got up and led the way forward.

The night fell in a couple of hours and there was still a lingering awkward silence between the two travelers. They had stopped over by a small cliff along the side of a canyon and Natsuki was facing the ridge and looking down in the depths. Shizuru walked up beside the blue haired girl, handing her a drink. "Thank you." Natsuki nodded. "Shizuru, I'm sorry for throwing my temper at you. It just kinda peeves me off when you do that."

Shizuru processed her words for a while, before she smiled. "Ara, it is alright." She paused; her brows flurried slightly, "I mean it, this time."

Natsuki laughed reverting back to her newly learned language, "**I know that. By the way, do you have any other food?**"

"Ara, I do not." Shizuru replied, but seeing the look on her captive's face, she added quickly, "Natsuki should eat something and then rest. Tomorrow morning we will get other food along the way. Maybe hunt also."

"**You will show me how to hunt?**" Natsuki asked incredulously. She was excited at the prospect of finding new food supplies for her troops as well as watching how this planet's natives went about their way of life.

"Yes. Now let's eat before Natsuki's stomach rumbles like last time."

XXX

"**Hey Shizuru, get up!**" Natsuki peeked at the alien whose back was facing her. "**Get up, let's go!**" she shook the alien gently on her shoulder with her bound hands, as excited as a child pestering her parents on Christmas morning. Shizuru opened one eye, spotting Natsuki's face hovering over her and closed them again. "**You promised tomorrow morning!**"

"Ara, Natsuki will scare the whole forest away with her noise. How to hunt?" Shizuru said in Terran, still with her eyes closed.

"I'll be quiet if you'd wake up!" Natsuki retorted in her native tongue.

Shizuru chuckled, "Okay. Let's get ready for the day before we set out." She rolled off her back and sat up.

XXX

Shizuru had led the pair of them through the canyons and they were approaching another thicket of trees. Shizuru looked around, before she turned to her right and pointed, "We will go there. Come, Natsuki."

They crouched in the bushes. Her impatience taking over, Natsuki opened her mouth to speak, "What …" Shizuru clamped her mouth shut and motioned for her to look in her direction. Natsuki's eyes widened at the sight. There were about a dozen creatures scattered amidst the foliage and in between the trees. They had three short horns at the tip of their heads and were a resplendent bronze, with streaks of moss green patterning their bodies, a perfect camouflage for their habitat. They sported three pairs of chunky, hooved legs and pretty-muscled frames. The creature looked like a nasty accident of genetically combining a gazelle and boar back in Natsuki's world. She turned to Shizuru, who had already repositioned herself without Natsuki noticing and her weapon was already unsheathed. She pulled back her arm, holding her weapon like a javelin; and released it at a shocking speed. The weapon made contact, piercing the animal through the body at its left leg causing it to bellow in pain before it fell with a heavy thud and the rest of the herd scattered. Without sparing a second, Shizuru acted, pulling out a small, concealed dagger from her toga. She sprinted over to its side, leaping over its body and plunged the weapon deep into the beasts' neck, effectively severing its jugular with a single strike.

Natsuki had been watching in awe at the scene that unfolded in front of them. She had heard of her forefathers hunting, but that was millenniums back and she only saw pictures of such hunts and their game. Windbloom didn't have the need for hunters because there was practically no game inside or outside that concrete city. The animals were all reared and kept in pens, fattened and genetically enhanced for growth. She popped her head over the bushes and Shizuru motioned her over. Shizuru handed Natsuki the dagger. "You wanted to hunt, right? Now, help."

XXX

Natsuki wiped the sweat off her brow with her armored shoulders, but found no relief as the metallic Duran was unable to absorb any moisture. She glared angrily at her bound hands it was hard enough to gut an animal with two hands and this just made it worse. Both hands were crusted in the beast's blood and her chest plates weren't spared either. In fact, her entire suit was now marred and she scowled. Shizuru had left shortly after she slain the animal, saying she had to find some herbs to preserve the meat and that she would be back soon. Natsuki had finished with the carcass; there was literally nothing left and Shizuru was still not back yet. Frustrated, she threw her dagger on the ground and glared angrily at it, as if hoping it might help her out of this situation. Right on cue, Shizuru appeared, carrying a couple of gigantic leaves in one hand and an assortment of different colored plants in another, her satchel slung behind her back. "**Ara..**" She gaped at her downright disheveled companion.

"What." Natsuki growled as Shizuru stepped closer. Shizuru placed her plants on the floor and reached into her satchel, pulling out a cloth. She brushed the cloth over Natsuki's forehead but the stain wouldn't come off. Frowning, she took out her bottle of remaining green liquid and dampened the cloth. She wiped Natsuki's forehead again, but this time, satisfied at the result. She raised her right hand, gently pushing Natsuki's face to the right and cleaned her left cheek, before repeating the same action with the other side. Unbeknown to both, Natsuki had been holding her breath the entire time as she watched the alien girl dab her face gently, watching her brows crease ever so slightly when she concentrated on a hard-to-remove-patch of blood. Shizuru's gaze suddenly focused on her and Natsuki found herself staring right into her crimson orbs. They held the gaze for a few seconds before Natsuki stepped back, turning to her left. "Thanks." She exhaled, feeling her heart pumping faster; convincing herself it was due to the lack of air from her holding her breath.

"Natsuki, we should finish up here, I will bring you to a place." Shizuru said as she packed up the meat in the large leaves, adding a combination of her plants to it before she wrapped it up into a small packet and placed it into her satchel.

Shizuru had led them deeper into the forest, walking ahead. Natsuki, feeling weary and crummy, had resigned herself to trudging slowly after Shizuru. She ran a hand through her long blue hair and cringed as she pulled it in front. It was caked in dried blood, forming a nasty clump. She sighed in defeat.

"Natsuki! Hurry!" She heard a shriek from Shizuru. Her ears perked up and she made a mad dash toward the sound of her voice, leaping over rocks and swatting low hanging branches aside. "Natsuki!" Shizuru's voice was very near now. She burst through the foliage, assuming a defensive stance as she raised her fist, expecting an attack. Instead, she found herself goggling at the view in front of her.

Clear, green liquid was cascading down a series of small rocks, which we covered in a light red shade. She stepped closer, her heels digging into the orange soil by the creek. Bending over, she picked up a rock, examining it. She looked back at Shizuru, who had made herself comfortable on a small patch of grass nearby. "Come here." Shizuru called out.

"**Wow this is great, Shizuru. Could you help wipe my plates down?**" Natsuki asked.

"Of course. But I think you should do it youself." Shizuru replied, pulling out a key and unfastening the restraint.

"Uh. Aren't you afraid I'll just make a run for it?"

"Well, if you wanted to you would have, why are you here still talking to me?" Shizuru giggled at her.

Natsuki laughed sheepishly and headed off toward the creek, stretching her arms out for the first time in four days. She looked at her arms. Her right arm was still pretty banged up from the fight she had with Shizuru on their first encounter. She chuckled inwardly as she unlatched the armor manually. _I'd never have expected this. I mean, she seems almost human and I have to say, being around her makes me feel different. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy my time around here. _Flexing her forearm, she worked on removing her plates around her left arm and placed in on the soil. Using both hands, she pressed two buttons located at each side of her chest plates and they opened with a small hiss of air. She tossed them aside and stepped closer to the creek, scooping a handful of water and splashed it on her face, giving a small sigh on contentment as she felt the cool liquid dribble down her neck, dampening her dark tanktop slightly.

XXX

Shizuru watched as the girl bound off excitedly toward the creek. She had decided to throw all caution to the wind when she released her restraints, but now she felt that she had made the right choice. Natsuki wouldn't attack her. She didn't know why, but she just felt it. Notwithstanding their first encounter of course, and besides, it was her who had stalked Natsuki. She didn't fault Natsuki for retaliating, she would have done so herself in a heartbeat.

Shizuru heard a soft clang which broke her out of her reverie. She looked up and saw Natsuki removing her chest plates and her eyes widened in surprise. _Is that her true form?_ She gaped as Natsuki stood up, walking closer to the creek. Instead of the chunky Duran that she had believed Natsuki to be, she actually sported a lithe and toned body. She looked closer, spying multiple scars that were etched on her smooth skin. Shizuru stood up, taking another cloth from her satchel and walked toward the creek. Natsuki looked up at her as she heard approaching footsteps, coming to a stop beside her. Shizuru bent down, rinsing the cloth once before wringing it dry. She took a step closer to the girl and blotted the droplets hanging off Natsuki's chin lightly. The girl didn't flinch from their contact this time round, which made Shizuru feel more comfortable doing this. After she cleaned her face, she made her way down to Natsuki's neck and shoulders. She spotted a thick scar near Natsuki's left shoulder that had healed into a sizeable lump beneath the tanktop and touched it gently with two fingers. Natsuki looked down, but didn't pull away, "It's from an accident." She explained, scratching her head. "Like, boom." She tried using sound to explain further for Shizuru to understand.

"I see." Shizuru looked up, before pressing her whole hand against the scar.

"So, Shizuru, what's your city like?" Natsuki asked as she watched Shizuru trace her scar.

"Ara, there are three clans in my lands; the tree tribes, the water clan and the earth clans. The main city has been blessed by our Goddess so that all three elements are present. In my city, one part is underground, where the Earth people feel most at home. They live in the many tunnels of the city; it is easy to get lost. The earth people have a natural armor and are good warriors."

"When you say armor, you mean turning metallic right?"

Shizuru nodded, before continuing, "The main tunnel will lead you to a big tree, where you find the tree tribes. The tree people can manipulate the nature around them…"

Natsuki interrupted, "Like when you caught me with those vines? Damn, those were annoying!"

Shizuru chuckled, "Besides that, they also have their animals. Their animals will listen to them. You can meet mine when we are home."

"You have an animal? What is its name?"

"Kiyohime. She has been with me since I was young. Lastly, before Natsuki interrupts again." Shizuru smiled at the sheepish Natsuki, revealing the tips of her fangs, "There is the water clan. Behind the city there is the ocean. Our water brethren are, how do you say, very adaptable? They can become one with the ocean and harness its power for invisibility."

Natsuki's face lit up in recognition, "You mean when you disappeared and appeared on the rock!"

"Yes, they need the guise to dive into the oceans for most healing herbs, as well as to fish. But there are many monstrous creatures in the depths; they need it to stay safe. Each of the clans has their own special abilities and we work together as one. For example, the tree people harvest many fruits we eat and the water people are our great medics."

"So all your people have all the powers you mentioned? Like invisibility, metallic armor…" Natsuki put a hand to her chin as she recalled what Shizuru mentioned earlier.

Shizuru shook her head, "No, each ability is unique to each clan. It is how our Goddess Zo'yair balances everything."

"So how come you have all three attributes? I'm kinda lost."

"Ara, that is different a story, Natsuki." Shizuru said quietly, removing her hand from Natsuki's chest and gave her a soft smile. She turned away and started walking back to her belongings by the creek.

"Say, Shizuru, why didn't you just finish me off when you had the chance?" Natsuki asked, jogging to catch up. "I mean, I was knocked out."

"Ara, Natsuki should ask herself that question?" Shizuru tilted her head.

"I don't know, something distracted me. Shouldn't have happened." Natsuki sniffed, obviously still miffed at her loss of concentration in battle.

"Ara, ara. Does that mean you would rather have killed me back then?"

Natsuki looked at Shizuru, stumped. "Ah… No." she murmured.

"Natsuki, you said you got distracted. Who distracted you?"

"Some figure in silver. Was wearing some sort of hood, I think." Natsuki tapped her chin as she tried to recall the brief hallucination.

"I see. I was not wrong after all." Shizuru smiled at the confused girl, "Natsuki, our Goddess Zo'yair works in wondrous ways and we just have to trust her. See, she brought Natsuki and me together, correct?"

Natsuki pondered for a moment before replying, "Mhmm, I guess you're right, Shizuru."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Italics – Thoughts, _**Bold - Alien**

"Mmmhm. This is awesome." Natsuki declared, munching on her barbequed meat. "You should eat this."

"I like my quates." Shizuru replied calmly, seated as elegantly as usual, carefully peeling the fruit. "Remember to put out the fire when you are done. We should not attract unnecessary attention."

The night had fallen after their trip to the creek. After Natsuki had cleaned up and fixed her armor back in place, they had continued their journey to Shizuru's until the sun went down. Shizuru took out the packets of meat they had packed previously and started a small fire, which Natsuki used to barbeque her food. She took Shizuru's advice, grabbing another stick that was ready before putting out the fire.

"Hey, Shizuru." Natsuki lay on the ground, placing one hand below her head for support. She took another bite out of her dinner.

"Yes, Natsuki?"

"What is that weapon that you use? It's not like anything I've encountered. We mostly use guns in our world."

"Ara, it is a naginata. This one has been passed to me from my parents. I have trained with it since I was young. Would you like a quick demonstration?" Shizuru offered.

"Of course!" Natsuki nodded eagerly and Shizuru unsheathed her weapon. She took a few steps forward to assume her regular battle stance, supporting the base of her weapon with a raised left hand, pointing the weapon downwards, supported by her right shoulder blade and an extended right arm. She swished her naginata to her left and right in a single fluid motion, before she twirled in a full circle, slashing the blade upwards and hopped away nimbly. With a small flick of her wrist, the weapon's base extended, and the serrated cord whipped out. She twisted her arm and the chain crossed, looping around an unsuspecting rock and with a tug, the rock crunched under the pressure.

"Awesome!" Natsuki cheered as Shizuru placed her weapon to the side, sheathing it. "But, you had some armor on when I first battled you. Did you dump it somewhere? I don't see you carrying it around."

"Ara, I still have it, of course." Shizuru giggled.

"Huh?"

Shizuru merely smiled, before she transformed into the metallic alien that Natsuki had first battled a couple of days ago. "Holy shit." Natsuki breathed as Shizuru easily reverted back, the metallic plates clinking on the ground as she did. "So your armor is your skin? And it's just like, armor-on-the-go?"

"Yes, like Natsuki says. Armor-on-the-go." She copied Natsuki's tone cheekily. "Now I have shown Natsuki things about me. It is Natsuki's turn, yes?"

"Uhm, yeah, I guess so. What do you want to know?"

"I want Natsuki to give me a demonstration too. When Natsuki fights. I want to see the magic shield."

"Magic shield…?" Natsuki thought for a moment. "Ah, you mean the electromagnetic shield."

"Ele-ctro-mag-netic shield, yes. Blue, like Natsuki's hair." Shizuru repeated.

"It isn't working now. I took a look at it, but the contact between the points got whacked out of place when you crushed my plates with your cords." Natsuki replied, studying Shizuru who was trying to understand her words. A look of disappointment crossed her face, but disappeared quickly. "I could fly though, if you return me my helmet. I'm not gonna risk whacking into a tree in this dense forest without my aide." She added quickly, referring to Winston.

"Fly? What's fly?" Shizuru's ears perked up.

"I'll show you." Natsuki replied, as she took the helmet from Shizuru's hands and donned it. The faceplate slid shut, and Winston's interface came on. "Winston, could you plot a quick course through the woods?"

"Ah, of course. Anything for your new lady friend." Winston replied.

"Whatever, let's go." She powered up her thrusters and hovered a few feet from the ground. She looked down at Shizuru who looked utterly fascinated. "This is flying, Shizuru." before she engaged the full array of thrusters located at her arms and shoulders and sped through the woods, with Winston guiding her to avoid the multitude of leafy obstacles and huge tree branches. She slowed down and came to a soft landing beside Shizuru. "Want to go for a spin?" Before Shizuru could open her mouth, she picked her up in her arms and they rose in the air, with Shizuru wrapping her arms tightly onto Natsuki's plated neck. Navigating through the treetops, they finally saw the dark sky above them, scattered with an array of sparkling stars and wisps of clouds. In the distance, Natsuki spotted the two moons that she had seen earlier on the ship and she nudged Shizuru slightly for her attention. "Beautiful, huh?"

Shizuru nodded, tightening her arms around Natsuki slightly before she breathed, "Yes, beautiful." Natsuki hovered over the treetops for a while longer, allowing Shizuru to take in the night sky.

"Ready to go back?" Natsuki asked softly, getting a nod in agreement. She slowly descended back down into the trees. As they landed on the ground, she gently placed Shizuru's feet on the ground before removing her helmet and flipped her hair. She tossed the helmet on the floor and flopped on the ground, exhausted from a long day. "Let's get to sleep, Shizuru. I'm exhausted." She yawned. She propped her head up with her hands, closing her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Shizuru looked at Natsuki's coarse actions and tittered lightly. She felt undeniably strange – it was something weird that she felt since a few days ago. She had admired her companion's battle skills, been captivated by her startling green eyes, giggled at her strange yet amusing mannerisms and intrigued by her character. She exhaled softly, slightly dreading their journey's end. She lay down, curling up slightly and fell asleep beside Natsuki.

XXX

Natsuki shifted slightly in her sleep and flopped to the right, throwing her left hand over her pillow. It said something, but she didn't quite catch what. "Shhh, pillows don't talk." She spoke to her pillow, with her eyes still closed, nuzzling into its softness.

"Ara, if Natsuki says so."

Natsuki frowned. She cracked open an eye and stared straight into a pair of fiery red ones. "Shizuru!" she yelled, pushing the girl away. "What the fuck!"

"Natsuki is so rough to me. Natsuki pushes me away because she does not like me." Shizuru sniffed and covered her face with her hands.

"What! No! Oi don't cry!" Natsuki creased her brows and looked at the form of the girl who was sitting on the ground, sniffling away. "I like you! I was just surprised and I didn't mean to push you off so hard. I'm sorry!" Natsuki spluttered quickly whilst getting up to kneel beside Shizuru.

"Ara, Natsuki likes me?" Shizuru asked between her sobs.

"Yes, yes! I like you! I didn't mean to shove you aside like that, so don't cry."

"Natsuki is so sweet!" Shizuru squealed, face devoid of teas and wrapped her arms around the flabbergasted girl's neck.

"Wha?" Natsuki looked at the girl who was latched onto her side, before realization kicked in, "YOU! TRICKED ME!" she fumed, turning scarlet.

"Ara, ara. I like Natsuki too." Shizuru cooed, causing Natsuki to look at her with a huff, before crossing her arms defiantly. Shizuru peeked up from Natsuki's side and blew a small breath of air to get her companion's attention. Natsuki turned her head and saw Shizuru giving her a hopeful smile. Natsuki frowned for a second, before chuckling softly and wrapped an arm around her, reassuring her everything was fine.

XXX

"Captain Nao! Please come to the Mai's lab at once!" Akira's voice rang out through her communicator.

"Got it." Nao replied quickly, sensing the urgency in the usually collected voice. She got off her desk, swiping her armored claws that Natsuki had made for her and strode out. She arrived at the laboratories and Mikoto trooped in soon after. The usually unfazed Nao raised an eyebrow at the sight before her. There was an almost invisible creatures darting around the laboratory glass walls, simultaneously changing into puddles of green liquid. "What the fuck is this shit." She demanded, turning to Akira.

"We ran into them during one of our patrols, there were about half a dozen of them. They were crafty, you know, spontaneously changing into puddles and all. We couldn't stop them, so we decided to freeze them and somehow it worked." Akira shrugged. "Don't worry, this is information is classified. I have contained the information spread."

"Thanks, Akira. Guess those stupid guns came into good use after all." Nao replied. She turned to Mai and Youko, "Hey science geeks. You guys are the brains here, what the hell is this?"

Mai shook her head and Youko replied, "We really have no idea. Akira approached us and from what we heard, we decided to keep it in a fully sealed glass pod before defrosting them and thank God for that. Look at what it is doing." She gestured to the humanoid that were smacking angrily against the glass and shouting something incomprehensible.

"It seems like its sort of human, though. We have been recording its movements." Mai said, leading the group to a screen. "Look here. When there is no one around, it gains solid forms and lose invisibility." She paused the video and tapped at the screen, blowing up the picture. It was a blurred view of a guy with blonde hair and thick sideburns. "This blows our initial conclusion that there's no life form on this planet. What if one of these things got to Natsuki?" Mai asked with worry.

"Natsuki is strong, she will be fine." Mikoto replied, giving Mai a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. "Besides, she went out with Duran."

"I guess you're right." Mai sighed. "Youko, should we run some tests on these creatures? The more we know about them, the better, in case anything happens to Natsuki."

"Of course, Mai, let's get to work at once." Youko patted the worried girl's back.

XXX

Shizuru looked up at the rising sun, sighing softly. They were crossing the final stretch of their journey and would reach her parents soon. Shizuru had convinced Natsuki not to fly them back, stating that Duran would be a huge magnet for attention amongst her people once they saw the flying machine. Natsuki readily agreed; people were not her thing. She doubted she could handle another Shizuru, much less a city of them looking at her like an animal on display.

"Shizuru, how long more till we pass this place?" Natsuki asked grumpily through her helmet. They had been trudging through the desert for half a day now and as far as she could see, there was nothing but more sand ahead of her. The midday sun was sweltering and the intense heat made her uncomfortable and fidgety, especially when she still had Duran on. She decided to turn off most of it, in a bid to save extra power as it was running down to half. But that also meant the liquid cooling she had inside the suit was also turned off.

"Come, Natsuki, drink." Shizuru passed her the globe of liquid. She had unclipped her long sash and wrapped it around her head for protection against the heat. "Once we clear this desert, it is only slightly more than a day's journey home."Natsuki took the globe from Shizuru and took her helmet off. She plopped herself down on the sand before taking a mouthful.

Natsuki narrowed her eyes and looked down into the sand.

"What is it, Natsuki?" Shizuru asked, with concern in her eyes at Natsuki's sudden change in expression.

"I thought I felt something." Natsuki responded, looking up at Shizuru.

Shizuru knit her brows together, reverting back to her native language in her panic, "**Natsuki, we should move. It may be the sandschneki**. **I forgot. Noon is their time.**"

"Who is that?" Natsuki demanded.

"**No, we move first, talk later.**" Shizuru said quickly, hoisting Natsuki up.

A horrendous screech seemed to permeate from the sands below them and the sand started to sink downwards, as if it was being sucked by a giant vacuum. "No! My helmet!" Natsuki leapt forward and tried to grab it.

"Wait, Natsuki!" Shizuru commanded, grabbing her while whipping out her weapon, easily looping the cords around it and pulled it back to herself.

Before they could make another move, the ground opened up further and they felt themselves being pulled into the swirling sand vortex. "Shizuru! My helmet, give me the helmet!" Natsuki yelled, waving her hands.

Shizuru flung the helmet in her hands with all the strength she could muster at Natsuki. She reached out, brushing the tips slightly with her fingers, but was unable to grasp it. Instinctively, she kicked the falling helmet and snatched it quickly. "Winston, full power, get Shizuru!" she barked and the suit complied, thrusting Natsuki out of the sinking sand, dodging clumps of sand and toward the robed alien. She grabbed on Shizuru's waist with both hands and pulled her in closer before gaining altitude.

"Natsuki!" Shizuru cried, as she was pulled down into the depths by a long tongue that lead into the depths of the gaping black hole beneath them.

"Unh." Natsuki grunted as she pulled against the weight. She looked down, trying to find a way to sever the tongue, but they were sinking into the depths by the second. She had to think of something fast before they became wormbait. "Shizuru, I'm gonna let go!" She hollered, releasing the girl from her arms and immediately dived down into the pitch black. She grasped the disgusting, textured tongue with her right and activated her blade on her left. Tugging it taunt, she sliced, causing a sharp, shrill shriek from below.

"Ooomph!" Natsuki caught the falling Shizuru in midair as the shriek faded into an angry roar. "Shizuru, go metal!" She hollered as she lifted the girl up, spun a full circle in the air and flung her away as hard as she possibly could. She glanced down and saw a brown silhouette bursting from the sand below her. It flicked once before smashing straight into her. She flew a distance from the impact, forcing herself to a stop in a crouching position. The sand shook beneath her and the vortex appeared again, but this time she saw it was the head. Its mouth was wide open, layered with rows of small jagged teeth. _Oh fuck, wormfood, _she thought, as the creature easily swallowed her whole.

Shizuru was flung even before she had registered the words Natsuki had yelled at her. She changed into her metallic form as she started losing altitude. Before she knew it, she saw a flash of light brown and heard her body scraping against the sand. She clambered up, just in the nick of time to see Natsuki being swallowed whole by the sandschneki. "Natsuki!" She screamed, drawing her weapon from her back and sprinting towards the worm. But it was too late. The worm had dived back into the depths of the swirling sands. "No..." She whispered.

The sandschnekis thrived in this barren desert, feeding on unsuspecting travelers and wildlife alike as they crossed the desert. There hadn't been any case where someone had met a sandschneki and lived to tell the tale. You could escape them once, but amidst the sprawling desert, they hunted you down. She had stupidly forgotten about the fact that they were most active in the noon, when the sun wore down their prey and this mistake cost her. She shook her tears away. Natsuki had given her a chance to escape, at the cost of herself. She could not, and would not be the sandschnekis' lunch and let her sacrifice go to waste.

XXX

"Winston, lights please." Natsuki glanced around at the pinkish innards of her worm friend in disgust as she hovered in midair, looking down at the jagged teeth and the slippery goo that flowed into a hole at the end of the cavern. She landed on a somewhat drier piece of 'land' and examined the cavern as it trembled slightly. She prodded the side of the wall and looked at her now slime covered finger with a frown. "Bleah. I gotta make this guy spit me out or something." She spoke to no one in particular, before walking over to look at the edge of the mouth cavity into the pit below, where the goo flowed down. _Probably the digestive system_, she mused. She picked up a small flare from a side slot in Duran and threw it down… down… down… down, before she heard a plop and the flare fizzed. Scowling, she activated her two revolvers and fired at the walls of the throat, causing a rumble and she almost slid down with the goo.

She crossed her arms, looking down, deep in thought before her face brightened. _Ah!_ _Now I can finally use these! _She produced a set of ten ninja stars that had a black device attached to each. Excitedly, she took a step back and aimed, as though she was playing darts at the bar. Satisfied that they we all relatively concentrated on one spot; she jogged back near a flap of the worm's mouth and positioned herself closer to the entrance.

"Load missile." She commanded and the shoulder plate on her left slid open. Her visor display changed to a crosshair. She repositioned herself slightly. "Fire!" She crouched behind the flap to shield herself from the incoming impact.

Boom! She heard the first impact made by the missile, before twenty subsequent booms followed, reverberating throughout the cavern. A roar ensued soon after and she felt everything around her rattle violently. She pressed herself onto the slimy wall as the worm trashed about, sending the river of goo splashing on her suit. Another roar followed, but she spotted the glare of the sun at the tip. She knew that was her exit. Firing up the thrusters, she made a dash for it, with Winston guiding her past the sprays of sand that kept coming in through the worm's mouth.

Finally free of the damp, dark cavern, Natsuki flew high up into the sky, activating her revolvers and fired at the worm. She finally got a closer look at it as it was now above ground. It had a horizontal pattern on its body, alternating between a sandy brown and dark brown. From above she could still see the nasty rows of teeth that were lined around the worm's gaping mouth. It seemed to have a problem closing its mouth after she torched its throat. It turned toward her, releasing a shriek as it flailed helplessly around. She plucked a small grenade from her waist. It had been modified with hydrogen and should just about right. She grimaced as she thought of what she had to do in order decided to end its misery. She threw it into its mouth and flew a distance off.

She slumped on the sand as she watched the worm convulse and felt the sand shudder beneath her. The worm's half exposed form crumpled on the ground, motionless. She exhaled and collapsed in the sand, closing her eyes from the glaring sun.

XXX

Shizuru looked up. She thought she had heard a boom in the distance, but she couldn't be certain. She stared expectantly at the horizon, hoping for another sign to confirm her doubts, but it never came. _I am just hallucinating_, she thought. She inhaled deeply and continued her journey home. She hadn't walked for more than three minutes when she felt the ground beneath her tremble. In the horizon, she saw a cloud of sand erupting from the brown dunes. "Ara. My Natsuki." She breathed, hurrying toward the direction of the cloud.

Shizuru bent over to catch her breath, her chest heaving heavily and beads of perspiration rolled down her cheek. She was exhausted, after almost an hour trek through the shifting sands and the blazing heat. She shifted her makeshift hat, massaging her throbbing temples – her head was spinning slightly and couldn't help but wonder if she was headed the right way. However, unwilling to give up, she dragged herself through the sand and it wasn't long before she spotted a large silhouette in the distance and squinted. _Sandschnek_i? She thought in bewilderment and started to stumble towards it. The silhouette remained motionless at her approach and she saw that half of its body was hunched over the ground. It was dead. _Natsuki. Natsuki must be somewhere nearby. _Shizuru looked frantically around, brows creased in worry, only to find yet another prone figure lying a distance away from the dead worm, semi buried under the sands. Disregarding her exhaustion, she sprinted.

"Natsuki!" she called desperately, kneeling beside the unresponsive girl. Shizuru picked up her head and gently placed it on her lap, trying desperately to remove the helmet. She fiddled around with it, tugging and pulling, but to no avail. The helmet just refused to budge. She calmed herself down, trying to recall what Natsuki had did to remove it previously. _She touched something at the side_… Shizuru felt the sides of the smooth metal and her fingers rested on a protruding little knob. She pressed. A hiss of air escaped and the helmet unlatched. Shizuru hurriedly took off the helmet and locks of blue hair fell onto her lap. "Natsuki, wake up." Shizuru tried again, brushing her hand against Natsuki's cheeks. It was burning hot. _Ara, how long has she been out here in the sun?_ Shizuru thought with worry. She slid her satchel to the front, taking out the globe of liquid and a lilac towel. She wet it, before placing the cool towel on Natsuki's face, hoping it would bring some relief. They weren't far from the edge of the desert now and Shizuru was determined to get them to safety.

Still getting no response from her attempts to wake Natsuki, Shizuru picked up the helmet, stuffing it back into her satchel. She heaved Natsuki up, looping Natsuki's arms around her shoulders before securing her waist tightly with her other arm. She stumbled slightly as she tried to stand, from the sheer weight of both Natsuki and Duran. Shizuru gritted her teeth, shrugging the weight to find a more comfortable position before she started off, lugging them off toward the edge of the desert.

XXX

The sun was setting in the horizon but Natsuki still had not stirred. Shizuru removed the damp towel from Natsuki's forehead and rinsed it again. She wiped Natsuki's face and neck with it, before placing it on her forehead. Shizuru sighed, running a hand through the long blue locks and another on Natsuki's cheek. The searing heat that had been radiating from Natsuki's face had subsided. Satisfied that her companion was in stable condition, she opened her satchel and picked out a tiny portion of quates, quietly munching on them as she watch the girl, smiling softly at the first time when they had their quates together. Finishing up her meal, she wiped her hands down, ignoring the sharp stinging, and settled beside Natsuki. Thoroughly drained, she fell into a deep sleep.

"Ugh." Natsuki groaned. _Why am I always suffering head trauma_, she thought, opening her eyes. _Trees? I was in a desert with that wormy._ She put a hand on her forehead, _what's this?_ She pulled down the damp lavender cloth. _Shizuru? Shizuru!_ She got up in a haste, ignoring her splitting headache as she turned around to get her bearings. She spotted the familiar tawny locks, looking down at Shizuru, who had curled up beside her. She sighed in relief, glad that her alien was fine. _Her alien?_ Natsuki snorted, _where did that come from?_ She gazed at the girl who was deep in sleep, her chest rising and falling steadily. Shizuru shifted slightly, brushing her face with her hands before she turned the other way. Natsuki frowned when she saw the myriad of cuts on Shizuru's hands. They were fierce and raw and she could see particles of sand still stuck onto the open wounds. She sat back down quietly and picked up Shizuru's hands, hoping she would not awaken the girl. When Shizuru did not stir, she lifted it carefully and examined them. Natsuki figured that Shizuru must have fell a number of times when she was lugging her stupid dead weight across the desert to wherever they are right now. Shizuru was also probably too busy nursing her back to health that she forgot about her own injuries.

Natsuki unlatched her gloves and searched her side for a small compartment in her armor. She produced a small bottle of alcohol, along with some cotton and bandages. Dabbing the alcohol on the cotton, she softly pressed it against Shizuru's wounds, half expecting the girl to awaken from the stinging. Shizuru didn't, still deep in her peaceful slumber. Natsuki then proceeded to clean up the rest of her wounds before bandaging her hands to prevent any infections. When she was done, she repositioned Shizuru's hands and murmured, "I'm sorry, Shizuru."

"Ara, it is not Natsuki's fault."

"Wha… You were awake? Since when?"

"That's a secret." Shizuru smirked, before cupping her companion's cheek, "Thank you, Natsuki."

Natsuki grunted and muttered something inaudible, feeling her face heating up. Shizuru giggled, "Let's go to sleep, Natsuki. Tomorrow will be a long day, when we return."


End file.
